The MARTIN ROWAN CHAFFIN
Collection of Public School
Text-Books
PRESENTED TO
Trinity College Library
By his grandchildren in honor of M.
R. Chaffin, who taught public school
in Davie and Yadkin counties for a
number of years beginning in 1850, and
in honor of his father, MVilliam Owen
Chaffin, who first taught a North
Carolina public school in 1843, in
Yadkin county.
For the especial use of the Department of
Education and of the Durham county and
city teachers.
DATE zl °
V
UNVEILING OE LEE MONUMENT
' At Kichmond, Va., Friday, May 39, 1890,
tz ^ 9
THE LI EE
or
Gen. Robert E. Lee,
EOR CHILDREN,
In Easy Words.
ILLUSTRATED.
MRS. MARY L. WILLIAMSON.
B. E. JOHNSON PUBLISHING CO.
RICHMOND, V7\.
Copyright, 1895,
BY
Mbs. MARY L. WILLIAMSON.
PREFACE.
In preparing the “Life of Lee for Children,” for use
in the Public Schools, I beg leave to place before teachers
good reasons for employing it as a supplementary reader.
First, I urge the need of interesting our children in
history at an early age. From observation I find that the
minds of children who study history early expand more
rapidly than those who are restricted to the limits of
stories in readers. While teaching pupils to read, why
not fix in their minds the names and deeds of our great
men, thereby laying the foundation of historical knowl-
edge and instilling true patriotism into their youthful
souls ?
Secondly, In looking over the lives of our American
heroes we find not one which presents such a picture of
moral grandeur as that of Lee. Place this picture before
the little ones and you cannot fail to make them look
upward to noble ideals.
This little book is intended as auxiliary to third
readers. I have used the diacritical marks of Webster,
also his syllabication. In compiling this work I referred
chiefly to Gen. Fitzhugh Lee’s “Life of Lee,” and
Rev. J. William Jones’ “Personal Reminiscences of
R. E. Lee.”
Mary L. Williamson.
New Market, Va.,
3 £ T
V / ‘ ■ c'
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2017 with funding from
Duke University Libraries
/
https://archive.org/details/lifeofgenroberte01will
The Sword of Robert Lee.
Father Ryan
Forth from its scabbard, pure and bright,
Flashed the sword of Lee !
Far in the front of the deadly fight,
High o’er the brave, in the cause of right.
Its stainless sheen, like a beacon light,
Led us to victory.
Out of its scabbard, where full long
It slumbered peacefully —
Roused from its rest by the battle-song,
Shielding the feeble, smiting the strong,
Guarding the right, and avenging the wrong—
Gleamed the sword of Lee !
Forth from its scabbard, high in air,
Beneath Virginia’s sky.
And they who saw it gleaming there,
And knew who bore it, knelt to swear
That where that sword led they would dare
To follow and to die.
Out of its scabbard ! Never hand
Waved sword from stain as free,
Nor purer sword led braver band,
Nor braver bled for a brighter land,
Nor brighter land had a cause as grand,
Nor cause a chief like Lee !
Forth from its scabbard ! All in vain !
Forth flashed the sword of Lee!
’Tis shrouded now in its sheath again,
It sleeps the sleep of our noble slain.
Defeated, yet without a stain,
Proudly and peacefully.
The Life of Gen. Robert E. Lee.
CHAPTER I.
Birth and Youth.
Robert Edward Lee was bom at Stratford,
Westmoreland county, Virginia, on the 19th
of January, 1807.
His father, General Henry Lee, had been
a great chief in Washington’s army. They
sometimes call him “Light-Horse Harry
Lee.” While with Washington, he was ever
in front of the foe, and his troopers were
what they always should be — the eyes and
ears of the army.
After the war he was Governor of Vir-
ginia, and then a member of Congress. It
was he who said in a speech made before
Congress after the death of Washington, that
he was “First in war, first in peace, and
10
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
first in the hearts of his countrymen.” He
also said, ‘‘Virginia is my country; her will
I obey, however sad the fate to which it may
subject me.”
The long line of Lees may be traced back
to Launcelot Lee,, of Loudon, in France, who
went with William the Conqueror upon his
expedition to England; and when Harold
had been slain upon the bloody field of Hast-
ings, Launcelot was given by William the
Conqueror an estate in Essex. From that
time the name of Lee is ever an honorable
one in the history of England.
In the time of the first Charles, Richard
Lee came to the New World and found a
home in Virginia. He was a man of good
stature, sound sense, and kind heart. From
him the noble stock of Virginia Lees began.
He was the great-great-grandfather of Robert,
who was much like him in many ways.
Robert’s mother was Anne Hill Carter,
who came from one of the best families of
Virginia. She was a good and noble woman,
TEE LIFE OF GEE ROBERT E. LEE. ' 11
who lived only to train her children in the
right way.
Stratford, the house in which Robert was
born, is a fine old mansion, built in the shape
of the letter H, and stands not far from the
STRATFORD.
banks of the Potomac River and near the
birthplace of "Washington. Upon the roof
were summer houses, where the band played,
while the young folks walked in the grounds
below, and enjoyed the cool air from the river
and the sweet music of the band.
12
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
He had two brothers and two sisters. His
brothers were named Charles Carter and Sid-
ney Smith, and his sisters Anne and Mildred.
When Robert was but four years of age
his father moved to Alexandria, a city not
very far from the Stratford House, where he
could send his boys to better schools. But
he was not able to stay with them and bring
them up to manhood. Shortly after he had
moved to Alexandria, he was hurt in Balti-
more by a mob of bad men, and he was
never well again.
When Robert was six years old, his father
went to the West Indies for his health.
While there he wrote kind letters to his son,
Charles Carter Lee, and spoke with much love
of all. Once he said, ‘ ‘ Tell me of Anne. Has
she grown tall? Robert was always good.”
He wished to know, also, if his sons rode and
shot well, saying that a Virginian’s sons should
be taught to ride, shoot, and tell the truth.
When he had been there five years, and
only grew worse, he made up his mind to
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
13
return home. But he grew so ill that he
was put ashore on Cumberland Island at the
home of a friend. He soon gave up all hope
of life. At times his pain was so great that
he would drive his servants and every one
else out of the room. At length an old
woman, who had been Mrs. Greene’s best
maid, was sent to nurse him. The first
thing General Lee did when she came into
the room was to hurl his boot at her head.
Without a word, she picked up the boot and
threw it back at him. A smile passed over
the old chief’s face as he saw how brave she
was, and from that time to the day of his
death none but Mom Sarah
could wait on him. Two
months after the sick soldier
landed he was dead. His
body was laid to rest amid
the cedars and flowers of
the South, and it has never
been moved to Virginia.
MOM S AH Ail.
14
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
At this time Robert was only eleven years
old. If he was a good boy, it was his mother
who kept him so, for he never knew a father’s
care. His mother once said to a friend,
“How can I spare Robert! He is both a
son and a daughter to me.”
About that time the girls and other boys
were away from home, and she had no one
but Robert to care for her. He took the
keys and “kept house” for her when she
was sick, and also saw to all of her outdoor
work. He would run home from school to
ride out with her, so that she might enjoy
the fresh air and sunshine. When she
would complain of the cold or draughts, he
would pull out a great jackknife and stuff
the cracks with paper, for the coach was an
old one.
So he grew up by her side, a good and
noble boy. At first he went to school to a
Mr. Leary, who was ever his firm friend.
Then he went to the school of Mr. Benjamin
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
15
H. Hallowell, who always spoke of him as a
fine young man.
Robert was fond of hunting, and would
sometimes follow the hounds all day. In
this way he gained that great strength which
was never known to fail him in after life.
The old home, in Alexandria, where his
mother had lived, was always a sacred place
to him. Tears after, one of his friends saw
him looking sadly over the fence of the gar-
den where he used to play. “I am looking,”
he said, ‘ ‘ to see if the old snow-ball trees are
still here. I should be sorry to miss them.”
When he was eighteen years old, he went
to West Point to learn to be a soldier. He
was there four years, and in that time never
got a bad mark or demerit. His clothes
always looked neat and clean, and his gun
bright. In short, he kept the rules of the
school and studied so well that he came out
second in his class.
When he came home from West Point, he
ound his mother’s old coachman, Nat, very
16
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
ill. He took him at once
to the South and nursed
him with great care. But
the spring-time saw the
good old slave laid in the
grave by the hand of his
land young master.
Not very long after, his
UNCLE NAT.
dear mother grew quite ill.
He sat by her bedside day and night, and
gave her all her food and medicine with his
own hand. But his great care and love could
not save her. He was soon bereft of her to
whom he used to say he “owed everything.”
Some one has said, “Much has been writ-
ten of what the world owes to ‘Mary, the
mother of Washington’ ; but it owes scarcely
less to ‘Anne, the mother of Lee.’”
Gen'-er-al, the head of an army.
Ex'-pe-dl'-tion, a voyage ; a trip, with an aim in
view.
Stat'-ure, height.
Draughts (drafts), currents of air.
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
17
Tell what you remember about —
Robert’s father.
Robert’s mother.
The situation of his home.
Robert’s kindness to his mother.
His life at West Point.
18
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
CHAPTER II.
A Young Engineer.
In 1829, when twenty-two years old, Robert
entered the Engineer Corps of the United
States, and thus became Lieutenant Lee.
It is the duty of these
engineers in time of peace,
to plan forts, to change
the course of rivers which
make sand-banks at wrong
places, and to do other
work of the same kind.
Lieutenant Lee was sent
at once to Hampton Roads,
in Virginia, to build strong
works, not dreaming that in after years it
would be his fate to try to pull them down.
Lieutenant Lee was married on the 30th
of June, 1831, to Mary Custis, who was the
great-granddaughter of Mrs. Washington,
Lieut, of Engineers.
THE LIFE OF GEE ROBERT E. LEE.
19
and the only child of George Parke Custis,
the adopted son of Washington. She lived
at a line old place on the Virginia bank of
the Potomac River, called Arlington. At
this time Lieutenant Lee was very handsome
in face and tall and erect in figure.
Two years after his marriage he was sent
to the city of Washington. This change
was pleasant to him, for he was then near
the home of his wife.
In 1837 he was sent to St. Louis to find
means to keep the great Mississippi River
in its own bed. It was a hard task, but he
at last forced the mighty river into the
channel he wished. While at work, some
men, who did not know what great things
he could do, tried to drive his workmen,
away, and even
brought up can-
non. Lee did
not mind them,
but went on
with his work, .
ARLINGTON.
20
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
and soon had the great river to flow in the
right place.
From St. Louis he was sent to New York
to plan and build new forts to protect that
great city. He was now a captain of engi-
neers, and was soon to try the horrors of
war.
In 1846, a war broke out between the
United States and Mexico. “Engineers are
of as much use to an army as sails to ships.”
They have to make roads and bridges, to
plant big guns and draw maps, and guide
the men when going to light.
At flrst, Captain Lee was sent to join Gene-,
ral Wool, in the north of Mexico. Not long
before the battle of Buena Vista (Bwa-na-
vees-ta), General Wool sent Lee to see where
Santa Anna, the general of the Mexicans,
had placed his army. News had come that
he was not far off.
Lee rode, with only one man to guide
him, into the mountains. After he had been
riding for some hours, he saw on a hill-side
MUX1CO
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
21
the smoke of fires, and objects which he
thought were tents. He went on, in a very
cautious way, till he had gotten quite near.
Then, he saw the white objects were only
flocks of sheep and herds of cattle and mules
on the way to market. He found out from
the men driving them that Santa Anna had
not crossed the mountains, and then went
back to his friends, who thought that they
would never see him again.
Though he had ridden forty miles that
night, he rested but three hours before
taking a troop of horsemen and going far
into the mountains to find out just where
Santa Anna had gone with his army.
Soon after this brave deed, Captain Lee
was sent to join General Scott in the south
of Mexico. He was put to work at Yera
Cruz (Ya-ra-kroos), a large town on the coast.
There was a high wall, with strong forts
around Yera Cruz. General Scott wished
to take this city from the Mexicans. So
Captain Lee had to plant big guns and
22
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
build forts; and to do this he worked night
and day.
As they were short of men, he was told to
take some sailors from a man-of-war to help
with the work. These men began to com-
plain loudly. “They did not enlist to dig
dirt, and they did not want to work under
a landlubber anyhow.” Their captain said
to Lee, “The boys don’t want any dirt to
hide behind; they want to get on the top ,
where they can have a fair fight.” Lee
quietly showed his orders, and told the old
“salt” he meant to carry them out, and
pushed on the work ’mid curses both loud
and deep.
Just as the work was done, the Mexicans
began to fire their guns at that point, and
these brave sons of the sea were glad enough
to hide behind the “bank of dirt.” Not
long after, their captain met Captain Lee and
said, “I suppose the dirt did save some of
my boys. But I knew that we would have
no use for dirt-banks on shipboard, that
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
23
there what we want is a clear deck and an
open sea. And the fact is, Captain, I don’t
like this land fighting anyway; it ’ aint clean ”
Vera Cruz was taken by General Scott in
two weeks’ time. Then the men went on
over hills and vales, till they came to the
strong fort on Cerro Gordo. Captain Lee
then found a way to lead the Americans to
the rear of the Mexicans, who soon broke
and fled.
While this battle was raging, Captain Lee
heard the cries of a little girl, and found by
the side of a hut a Mexican drummer boy.
His arm had been badly hurt and a large
Mexican, who had been shot, had fallen on
him. Captain Lee stopped, had the big
Mexican thrown off of the boy, and the little
fellow moved to a place of safety.
His little sister stood by. Her large
black eyes were streaming with tears, her
hands were crossed upon her breast, and her
hair in one long plait reached to her waist.
Her feet and arms were bare. She was very
24
THE LIFE OF OFF. ROBERT E. LEE.
thankful to Captain Lee for saving her
brother.
In a letter to his son from this place, he
says: “I thought of you, my dear Custis,
CAPTAIN TEE RESCUING DRUMMER BOY.
on the 18th in the battle, and wondered,
when the musket balls and grape were
whistling over my head, where I could put
you, if with me, to be safe. I was truly
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE. 25
thankful you were at school, I hope, learning
to be good and wise. You have no idea
what a horrible sight a battle-field is.”
From Cerro Gordo, they went on fighting
battles until they came to the large and rich
city of Mexico.
On this march, Captain Lee was always
at the front to guide the men. Once, when
one part of General Scott’s army had lost its
way, General Scott sent seven engineers to
guide it into the right road. They had to
cross a huge, rough bed of lava and rock.
Six of them went back to camp, saying that
they could not get across; but, Captain Lee
pressed on in the dark, alone and on foot,
and brought the men out in safety. Gen-
eral Scott once said that it was the greatest
feat done by any one man during the war.
There were many battles fought, hut at
last the city of Mexico was taken by Gen-
eral Scott. In after years, this great man
was heard to say that his great success in
Mexico was largely due to the skill and
26
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
valor of Robert E. Lee, and that he was the
best soldier that he ever saw in the field.
In the midst of all this fighting, his boys
were ever in his thoughts. This is a part of
what he wrote to his son Custis on Christmas-
Eve, 1846:
“I hope good Santa Claus will fill my
Rob’s stocking to-night; that Mildred’s,
Agnes’s, and Anna’s may break down with
good things. I do not know what he may
have for you and Mary, but if he leaves you
one-half of what I wish, you will want for
nothing. I think if I had one of you on
each side of me, riding on ponies, I would
be quite happy.”
JSTot long after, he wrote to his boys thus:
“The ponies here cost from ten to fifty
dollars. I have three horses, but Creole is
my pet. She is a golden dun color, and
takes me over all the ditches I have yet
met with.”
When the war was at last ended, in 1848,
Captain Lee went home for a short rest, after
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
27
which he was sent to West Point, as the
Superintendent of the Academy from whose
walls he had gone forth twenty-three years
before. His duty was to watch over the
studies and training of the boys who would
one day be officers in the army.
Corps (kore), a body of troops.
Officer, one who has charge of soldiers.
Lava, melted matter flowing from a volcano.
Feat, a great deed.
Lieuten'ant (luten'ant), an officer next below a
captain.
Tell me —
When Robert became Lieutenant Lee.
Whom he married.
Where he was sent in 1837.
What war broke out in 1846.
About a great feat performed by Captain
Lee.
Where he was sent in 1848.
28
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
CHAPTER III.
A Cavalry Officer.
After being three years at West Point,
Captain Lee was sent to Texas as Lieuten-
ant-Colonel (kurnel) of the Second Regiment
of Cavalry. Cavalrymen are soldiers who
fight on horseback and who carry sabers,
and pistols, and short guns, called carbines.
Colonel Lee did not wish to leave the
Engineer Corps, as he had become very fond
of the work, and had won a high rank in it;
but, as he had been promoted to a higher
place, he thought it best to take it. When
at West Point, he had been a fine horseman.
He was still fond of horses and liked to see
them fed and well taken care of. Though
now forty-six years of age, he still had a firm
seat in the saddle and rode well. His regi-
ment was sent to the new State of Texas,
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
29
where his duty was to watch the Indians
and keep them from killing the whites.
I have no doubt that Colonel Lee enjoyed
LEE CHASING THE INDIANS.
riding over the vast plains of Texas, but life
in the forts was not very pleasant to such a
man as Lee. The forts were in the midst of
dreary plains, and there were only a few men
30
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
at each post. The scouting parties were led
by lieutenants, and the higher officers would
remain at the forts to see that all went right.
Such a lonely life did not suit our hero, but
he made the best of it.
Near his first post, Camp Cooper, was
an Indian Reserve, where the Indians
would come to be fed by the Govern-
ment. When it was cold and food was
scarce, they would come in ; but when
the grass grew in the spring and the game
was fat, they would go of!' and become wild
and savage enough to kill those who had
been kind to them.
Catumseh, a Comanche chief, was at the
Reserve when Lee was at Camp Cooper.
Lee thought it would be better to visit him
and tell him that he would trust him as a
friend so long as he behaved; but if he did
not behave he would take him for a foe.
Catumseh was not much pleased with Lee’s
speech, but gave an ugly grunt and said
that, as he had six wives, he was a “big
THE LIFE OF OEK ROBERT E. LEE.
31
Indian.” Lee had better “get more wives
before he talked.” This visit did not do
much good. Catumseh was no doubt taking
the measure of Lee’s scalp, while Lee was
displeased with the sly and filthy savage.
The Comanche Indians were then the
fiercest tribe in that region. They ate raw
meat, slept on the ground, and were great
thieves and murderers. They were fine horse-
men, and moved swiftly from place to place
on their ponies.
In June, 1856, Lee was sent with four
companies of his regiment on an expedition
against the Comanches, but they could not
be found. The wily savages had fled to
their desert retreats, where foot of pale face
had never trod.
From Camp Cooper he writes to Mrs. Lee :
“My Fourth-of-July was spent after a
march of thirty miles in one of the branches
of the Brazos, under my blanket, which
rested on four sticks driven in the ground,
as a sun-shade. The sun was fiery hot, the
32
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
air like a furnace, and the water salt; still
my love for my country was as great, my
faith in her future as true, as they would
have been under better circumstances.”
The change of weather in Texas is some-
times very great.
In another letter, ne tells his wife about a
cold wind or norther. “I came here in a
cold norther, and though I pitched my tent
in the most sheltered place I could hnd, I
found this morning, when getting up, my
bucket of water, which was close by my bed,
so hard frozen that I had to break the ice
before I could pour the water into the basin.”
While Colonel Lee rode with his troopers
from fort to fort, a dreadful disease broke out
among them. Many died, but Colonel Lee
did not catch the disease, though he lived
among his men and ran great risks. In
these sad times, his thoughts wTere ever with
his dear ones at home.
In a letter dated Camp Cooper, June 9,
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
33
1857, he tells about the sickness of the
troopers :
“The great heat has made much sickness
among the men. The children, too, have
suffered. A bright little l>oy died from it a
few days since. He was the only child, and
his parents were much grieved at his loss
* * *. For the first time in my life, I
read the service of our Church over the grave
to a large number of soldiers.” A few days
after, he again read the service over a little
boy who had died with the disease.
In a long letter from Fort Brown, Texas,
December, 1856, he says:
“I thought of you and wished to be with
you.” He wrote again: “Though absent,
my heart will be in the midst of you ; I can
do nothing but love and pray for you all.
My daily walks are alone, up and down the
banks of the river, and my chief pleasure
comes from my own thoughts, and from the
sight of the flowers and animals I meet with
here.”
34
THE LIFE OF OEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
In the midst of this wild, lonely life he
was ever true to his faith in Christ, which
he had professed alder the Mexican war.
There was at Aldington a large yellow cat,
called Tom Tita. All the family were fond
of him, and Colonel
Lee among the rest.
This led him to
write home about
the cats he saw in
his travels. He
told once of a cat called by his mistress Jim
Hooks. He was a great pet, but at last died
from eating too much. He had coffee and
cream for breakfast, pound cake for lunch,
turtle and oysters for dinner, buttered toast
and Mexican rats, taken raw, for supper.
He was very handsome, but his “beauty
could not save him.” The kindness of his
mistress was his ruin.
Again he told his little girl about a cat
which was dressed up. He had two holes
bored in each ear, and in each wore bows of
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
35
pink and blue ribbon. He was snow-white
and wore a gold chain on his neck. His
tail and feet were tipped with black, and his
eyes of green were truly cat-like.
In the summer of 1857, he was made
Colonel (kur'nel) of his regiment. The next
fall his father-in-law, Mr. Custis, died, and
Colonel Lee went home for a short time.
Mr. Custis left Arlington and the rest of his
land to Mrs. Lee, and he also willed that at
the end of five years all of his slaves should
be set free. He had chosen Colonel Lee to
see that his will was carried out.
Colonel Lee stayed as long as he could
with his lonely wife, and then went back to
his post in Texas. It must have been far
from easy for him to go back to the wild,
hard life on the plains. There were then
iio railroads. The United States mail was
carried on mules, by armed soldiers who
rode in a gallop from place to place. Often
they were slain by the Indians, who would
scalp them and leave their bodies to be
36
TEE LIFE OF GEE. ROBERT E. LEE.
found by the troopers as they chased the
savages back to their retreats.
Two years more were spent in Texas,
when, in October, 1859, we find him again
at home, and taking part in a great tragedy.
A man, named John Brown, made a plan
to set free the negro slaves who were then in
the South, and to kill all the whites. This
plot did not succeed, and John Brown and
his men took refuge in the Round House at
Harper’s Ferry. Colonel Lee, who was then
at home on a furlough, was ordered to take a
band of soldiers and capture these bold men.
He went at once to Harper’s Ferry and
quickly took them prisoners. They were
then tried and hung for treason.
Just here, I must- tell you that the slaves
were blacks, or negroes, who had first been
brought to this country from Africa, in 1619,
by the Dutch, and sold to the Virginia
planters. At first, the planters bought them
out of pity, as they were badly treated by
the Dutch. But after a time it was found
IjETC AT JOHN BROWN’S FORT, HARPER’S FERRY
38
THE LIFE OF OEK ROBERT E. LEE.
that the negroes worked well in the corn and
tobacco fields, and that they made money for
their masters.
Many men at the North were sea-going
men, and they soon found out that, by sail-
ing over the ocean to Africa and catching
the blacks, they could sell them at a great
profit to themselves. This they did, and
men both at the North and South bought
them, though, even then, there were some
people at the South who thought it wrong to
buy and sell human beings.
In the State of Georgia it was for a time
against the law to hold negro slaves.
After a while, it was found that the
climate at the North was too cold for the
negro to thrive. It did not pay the men at
the North to keep them, and so they were
sold to the Southern planters.
In the South, the climate was hot, like
that of their native Africa, so they did well
in that sunny land.
In 1808, it was made unlawful to bring
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROB EFT E. LEE.
39
any more slaves from Africa to the United
States. The people at the South were glad
that the trade in slaves was stopped, but
the Northern traders were of course sorry
that they could make no more money in that
way.
When the negroes were first brought from
Africa, they were heathen savages ; but, after
a few years, they learned the speech and
customs of the whites ; and, more than all,
the worship of the true God. In thinking
of this, we have to admit that slavery must
have been permitted by the Lord in order to
bring a heathen people out of darkness into
the fight of the Gospel.
There were now four millions of negroes
in the South. There was great love between
the blacks and their masters, as we have
seen when John Brown tried to get the
former to rise up and slay the whites. For
years, there had been a feeling in the North
that it was wrong to own slaves, and some
40
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
of the people began to hate the South and
to try to crush it.
The South felt that they owned the slaves
under the law, or Constitution of the United
States, and that they ought to be let alone.
They also claimed that the slaves, as a. class,
were better treated than any other working
people in the world. They, moreover, said
that the Southern States had a perfect right
to go out of the Union, if they wished, and
set up a government for themselves. This
the North denied; and thus they quarreled
about the rights of States, and slavery, and
other things, until they began to think of
war.
In a short time after the John Brown Raid,
Colonel Lee was back at his post in Texas,
but he was much troubled at the state of his
dear country. He loved the Union and had
lived nearly all his life in its service; but he
knew that Virginia was in the right, and
that he could not light against his native
State.
THE LIFE OF GEJST. ROBERT E. LEE.
41
So, when the war came, he left the United
States Army to fight for Virginia and the
South.
He was offered the chief command of the
United States Army if he would remain in the
“Union” service. He knew that if he went
with the South he would lose his rank, and also
his lovely home — Arlington, but “‘none of
these things moved him ’ ; his only wish was to
knoiv , that lie might walk the path of duty .”
He said to Mr. Blair, who came to offer
him the command of the army: “If I
owned the four millions of slaves in the
South, I would give them all up to save the
Union, but how can I draw my sword upon
Virginia, my native State?” So, when Mr.
Lincoln called for troops to send against the
South, Lee turned his back upon “wealth,
rank, and all that a great power could give
him, and offered his stainless sword to his
native State.” His great soul was wrung
with grief, but he obeyed the call of duty.
He went at once to Richmond, and was
42
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
made Major-General of the Virginia troops.
His three sons also joined the Confederate
army.
General Lee was now fifty-four years old.
He had been thirty-two years in the service
of the United States.
The great “Civil War” now began. The
eleven Southern States which had left the
“Union” were now called “The Confederate
States of America”; Mr. Jefferson Davis
was made President of them, and Richmond
in Virginia was made the capital city.
Sa'bers, swords with broad blades.
Furlough (fur'lo), a leave of absence.
Trea'son (tre'zon), the act of being false to
one’s country.
Promo'ted, raised to a higher rank.
Reg'iment, a body of troops under a colonel.
Trag’edy, an action in which the life of a per-
son is taken. /
VIRGINIA STATE CAPITOL, FORMERLY OCCUPIED BY TITE CONFEDERATE CONGRESS
44
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
What do you know about —
Cavalrymen ?
Colonel Lee’s life in Texas?
Catumseh ?
The Comanche Indians ?
The negroes ?
John Brown ?
The wish of Lee ?
What he deemed his duty ?
The great “ Civil War ” ?
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
45
CHAPTER IV.
A Confederate General.
In this little book I cannot tell all that
happened during the Civil War, but only as
much as will relate to our hero, General Lee.
There were now two governments — one at
the North; the other at the South. Mr.
Abraham Lincoln was President of the North,
or Federals, while Mr. Jefferson Davis was
the President of the South, or Confederates.
The first thought of the North was to defend
Washington, their capital city; while the
South was just as busy taking care of Rich-
mond, and getting arms and troops ready
for war.
In this war, brother fought against brother,
and friend against friend. It was a time of
great trouble all over the land. At the
North, one hundred thousand men were
enlisted in three days. At the South, the
46
TEE LIFE OF GEE. ROBERT E. LEE.
feeling was more intense. Men rushed to
arms from all parts of the country.
You must notice that from the first of the
war, the South was much poorer in the num-
ber of men and arms than the North. There
were at the North eighteen millions of whites;
while at the South, there were only six millions.
Through all the South, there could be found
only fifteen thousand new rifles and about
one hundred thousand old muskets.
The Federals wore a uniform of blue, while
the Confederates were clad in gray; hence
they were sometimes called “the blue” and
“the gray.”
The first blood which flowed in this war
was shed in Baltimore. The Sixth Massa-
chusetts Regiment, as it was passing through
the city on its way south, was attacked by a
band of men who loved the South and could
not bear to see them marching on to tight
their brethren. In the fierce street fight
which followed, several men were killed.
This happened on April the 19th, 1861.
GEN, R. E. EEE IN WEST VIRGINIA
48
TEE LIFE OF GEE. ROBERT E. LEE.
The first gun of the war was fired at half-
past four o’clock April 12, 1861, at Fort
Sumter, in South Carolina. This fort was
taken by the Confederates after a fight of
thirty-four hours, in which no one was hurt
on either side.
During the first months of the war, Gen-
eral Lee was kept in Richmond to send Vir-
ginia, men, who came to fight for the South,
to the places where they were most needed.
All around Richmond were camps, where
men were trained for war. The largest of
these camps was called “Camp Lee,” after
our hero. But in July, 1861, Lee was sent
to Western Virginia, and was, for the first
time, commander of troops in the field.
Just then, there were heavy rains and a
great deal of sickness among the men of his
small army, so that he was not able to attack
the enemy, as he had planned.
After some time, it was thought best to
give up Western Virginia, and General Lee
went back to Richmond, where he stayed
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
49
only a short time. In November, 1861, he
was sent south to build a line of forts along
the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia.
In four months’ time he did much to show
his skill as an engineer.
But a large Northern army, under General
McClellan, was at the gates of Richmond, and
Lee was sent for to take charge of all the
armies of the South. Yerv soon, a battle
*j '
was fought at Seven Pines, May 31st; which
stopped General McClellan’s “On to Rich-
mond.” In that battle General Johnston,
the commanding general, was badly wounded,
and General Lee was put in his place. Lee
was swift to plan and as swift to act. His
task was hard. The hosts of the North
were at the gates of Richmond. The folks
on the house-tops could see their camp-fires
and hear the roar of their cannon. Lee at
once began to make earth-works, and to
place his men for battle. Every day, now, a
fine-looking man, clad in a neat gray uniform,
might be seen riding along the line.
50
THE LIFE OF GEE ROBERT E. LEE.
He wished to know what was going on in
the camp of the foe, and now the right man
came forward. His name was J. E. B.
Stuart, best known as Jeb Stuart. He led
his brave troopers quite around the army of
the North and found out all that Lee wished
to know. He was ever after this, until his
death, the “eyes and ears” of Lee.
“Stonewall” Jackson now came from the
Valley with his brave men, and Lee at once
began the “Seven Hays’ Battle.” Stuart was
“the eyes and ears” of Lee, and Jackson
was his “right arm,” as you will learn be-
fore you get through with this little book.
For seven days the battle went on, and at
last the Army of the Potomac, under General
McClellan, was forced back to the James
river, and Richmond was saved from the foe
by the skill of Lee and the valor of his men.
Lee now marched north towards Wash-
ington City, and in August, 1862, met the
army of General Pope and fought the Second
Battle of Manassas. Lee had made a bold
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
51
plan to put the army of Pope to flight. He
sent Stonewall Jackson fifty-six miles around
to the rear of Pope, while he (Lee) kept him
in check in front.
Jackson’s men marched so fast that they
were called “foot cavalry.” They ate apples
and green corn as they marched along, for
they had no time to stop. Only one man
among them knew where they were going.
Little cared they, for Stonewall Jackson led
the way.
On the evening of the second day, Jackson,
with twenty thousand men, was between
Pope and Washington city. Lee was in
front of Pope with the rest of the army.
General Jackson fell upon Manassas Junc-
tion and took three hundred prisoners and
many car-loads of food and clothes. After
the men had eaten what food they wanted,
they burned the rest and moved away.
Jackson found a good position from which
to fight, and when Pope’s men came up was
ready for them. They fought all day, and
52 THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
when the powder and shot gave out the
Southern men fought with stones.
All this time Lee, with most of the men,
was coming round to help Jackson. How
eagerly Jackson looked for help! He had
only twenty thousand men against three
times that many. At last Lee came up,
and the battle was won (August 30th).
Many brave men were killed on both sides,
but Lee was the victor. In three months’
time he had driven the foe from Richmond,
and was now in front of Washington with
his army.
He now sent General Jackson to Harper’s
Perry, where he took as prisoners twelve
thousand men of the North, September
15th. Jackson then hurried back to Lee,
who had crossed the Potomac and gone over
into Maryland, on September 5, 1862.
At Sharpsburg sometimes called Antietam
(Ante' tarn), he again met the fresh army of
McClellan and fought one of the most bloody
battles of the war. Lee had only half as
FAST MEETING OF FEE AND JACKSON,
54
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
many men as McClellan, but when, after the
battle, Lee thought it best to return to Vir-
ginia, McClellan did not follow him. Lee
led his army back to Virginia without the
loss of a gun or a wagon, and they rested
near Winchester, Virginia.
General Lee, in his tent near Winchester,
heard of the death of his daughter Annie.
She had been his dearest child, and his grief
at her death was great ; but he wrote thus
to Mrs. Lee:
“But God in this, as in all things, has
mingled mercy with the blow by selecting
the one best prepared to go. May you join
me in saying ‘His will be done! ’ ”
It was now McClellan’s turn to attack
Lee, but he was slow to move — so slow that
Mr. Lincoln sent him word “to cross the
Potomac and give battle to the foe, and
drive him south.” But still he did not
move, and Lee, who was also wanting to
move, sent Jeb Stuart over into Maryland to
find out what McClellan was doing. That
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE. 55
gallant man again went around the whole
Northern army, and came back safe to Lee,
having found out what Lee wished to know.
The Northern army now came back to
Virginia and Lee moved to Fredericksburg,
a town on the Rappahannock river.
Burnside was now put at the head of the
Northern army in the place of General
McClellan, whom Mr. Lincoln accused of
being too slow.
Lee placed his men on the heights above
the river, on the south side, while Burnside’s
hosts were on Stafford Heights and the plains
below.
At daylight on December 13, 1862, the
battle began, and was fought bravely by both
sides. But Burnside’s men had little chance,
since Lee’s men from above poured the shot
and shell so fast that they could not move
forward.
The noise of this battle was terrible, as
there were three hundred cannon roaring at
once.
56
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
Cooke, a great writer, tells us that as
Burnside’s guns were fired directly at the
town, the houses were soon on fire and a
dense cloud of smoke hung over its roofs
and steeples. Soon the red dames leaped
up high above the smoke and the people
were driven from their homes. Hundreds of
women and children were seen wandering
along the frozen roads, not knowing where
to go.
General Lee stood upon a ridge which is
now called “Lee’s Hill,” and watched this
painful scene. For a long time he stood
silent, and then, in his deep, grave voice,
said these words, which were the most bitter
that he was ever known to utter: “These
people delight to destroy the weak, and those
who can make no defence; it just suits
them.”
When the day was done, Lee was again
victor.
In less than six months Lee had fought
four great battles — all victorious to his arms,
T/F.K A.T FREDERICKSBURG
58
THE LIFE OF OEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
except that of Sharpsburg, which was neither
a victory nor defeat. The Southern army
was now full of hope and courage. At the
battle of Fredericksburg, Lee had only sixty
thousand men, while Burnside’s army num-
bered over one hundred thousand. In this
battle Lee lost five thousand men, while
twelve thousand of Burnside’s men lay stark
and cold upon the bloody field.
Lee grieved over the loss of his brave men,
and for the good people of Fredericksburg
who had lost their homes by fire during the
fight. He now waited day after day for
Burnside to attack, but in vain. At length
Lee went into winter quarters in a tent at
the edge of an old pine field near Fredericks-
burg, and began to get ready for fight when
the spring came. It was at this time that
among a number of fowls given to Lee, was
a fine hen which began the egg business be-
fore her head came off, and Bryan, Lee’s ser-
vant, saved her for the egg which he found
each day in the General’s tent. Lee would
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
59
leave the door of the tent open for the hen
to go in and ont. She roosted and rode in
the wagon, and was an eye-witness of the
battle of Chancellorsville. She was also at
the battle of Gettysburg; but when orders
were given to fall back, the hen could not
be found. At last, they saw her perched on
top of the wagon, ready to go back to her
native State.
In 1864, when food began to get scarce
60
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
and Bryan was in sore need for something
nice for guests, he killed the good old
hen unknown to her master. At dinner,
General Lee thought it a very fine fowl, not
dreaming that Bryan had killed his pet.
It was now time for Lee to carry out the
will of old Mr. Custis and set free his slaves.
Many of them had been carried off by the
Northern men, but now he wrote out the
deed and set them free by law. He wrote
thus of them to Mrs. Lee :
“They are all entitled to their freedom,
and I wish them to have it. Those that
have been carried away I hope are free and
happy.”
He had set free his own slaves years before.
Lee had proved so great a leader that the
people of the South began to look to him
with great love and hope.
During these battles, of which I have told
you, one-half of the Southern men were in
rags, and many were without shoes. Yet
shoeless, hatless, ragged and starving, they
TEE LIFE OF GEE ROBERT E. LEE.
61
followed Lee and fought his battles. Their
pet name for him was “Marse Robert.”
They knew that their great chief cared for
them, and would not send them into danger
if he could help it; and it wTas no fault of
his if their food was scant and poor. They
learned to love and trust him. “Marse
Robert says so,” was their battle-cry.
President, the head of a free people.
Mer'cy, kindness.
Gal'lant, brave ; daring in fight.
Vic'tor, one who wins.
Position, place.
Tell about —
The two governments.
The first blood shed.
The first gun fired.
“ Camp Lee.”
Where General Lee was first sent.
The “On to Richmond.”
Jeb Stuart. “Stonewall” Jackson.
The Second Battle of Manassas.
Sharpsburg. Fredericksburg.
The will of Mr. Custis.
The soldiers’ love for Lee.
62
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
CHAPTER V.
A Confederate General.
( Continued .)
When the spring of 1863 came, the two
armies were still in sight of each other near
Fredericks burg. A new man, General Hooker,
sometimes called “Fighting Joe,” had been
put at the head of the army of the North.
Take note that he was the fourth general
that President Lincoln had sent forth within
a year to conquer Lee.
Lee watched his new foe, and when he
had found out his plans was ready for him.
He fell back to a place called Chancellors-
ville, and there, in the midst of a dense
forest, the fight took place (May 2, 3).
While the battle was going on, Lee sent
Jackson to the rear to cut Hooker off from
a ford in the river. Jackson’s men moved
through the forest so swiftly and with so
TEE LIFE OF GEE ROBERT E. LEE.
63
little noise that they fell upon Hooker’s men
with a loud yell before he knew they were
near. They rushed out like a thunder-bolt
and swept down upon the line like a flash
of lightning. The foe did not wait, but
turned and fled.
It was now nearly dark, and, as Jackson
rode forward to view the way, he was shot
by his own men, who, in the dim light,
thought that he and his aids were a squad
of Northern cavalry. He was shot in three
places — in his right hand, his left forearm,
and again in the same limb near the shoulder.
He was placed in a litter and taken from the
held. All care was taken of this great and
good man, but he died the next Sunday. His
last words were :
“Order A. P. Hill to prepare for action.
Pass the infantry to the front. Tell Major
Hawkes” — he stopped and then said, as if
the fight was over, “Let us pass over the
river and rest under the trees.”
64
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
Thus passed away the great Stonewall
Jackson, the “right arm of Lee.”
For two days after Jackson was wounded,
the fight went on and raged with great fury.
General Hooker was struck by a piece of
wood split off by a cannon ball, and for a
time was thought dead.
Lee made bold plans and his brave men
carried them out. Stuart, who had taken
Stonewall Jackson’s command, led his men
to battle, singing “Old Joe Hooker, won’t
you come out of the wilderness.”
At last the battle of Chancellorsville was
won and Hooker was forced back to his old
camp at Fredericksburg.
Chancellorsville was Lee’s greatest battle,
but its glory was clouded by Jackson’s death.
General Lee wrote to his wife, May 11, 1863:
“You will see we have to mourn the loss
of the good and great Jackson. * . * I
know not how to replace him, but God’s
will be done.”
In this battle Lee had only fifty-three
GKEX. STONEWALL JACKSON
66
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
thousand men, one-third as many men as
Hooker.
In June, 1863, Lee again crossed the Po-
tomac and met an army under General
Meade at Gettysburg, in Pennsylvania.
Lee had two reasons for this move. One
was to get food for his men and horses ; and
the other to draw the Northern army away
from its strong forts around Washington
city. He gave strict orders to his men not
to steal and rob. This is a part of his order :
I
“The commanding general thinks that no
greater disgrace could befall the army, and
through it our whole people, than to com-
mit outrages on the innocent and defence-
less. • * * * It must be remembered
that we make war only upon armed men”
This order, with its noble Christ-like spirit,
will remain the “undying glory of Lee” ; for
all his property had been taken by the
Federals. His wife and daughters were
homeless, yet he did not fail to return good
for evil.
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
67
When Lee started into Maryland, he sent
Jeb Stuart on ahead to guard the right flank
of his army. By some mishap, he crossed
the Potomac too far to the east, and soon
found that the whole Federal army was be-
tween him and General Lee. By hard fight-
ing and riding he at last joined Lee at Get-
tysburg, but not until after the fight had
begun. Lee was thus without his “eyes and
ears,” as we have called General Stuart, and
could not tell just where the foe was. Neither
4
Lee nor Meade had planned to fight at Get-
tysburg, but they fell upon each other pretty
much like two men groping in the dark.
For the first two days (July 1, 2) Lee’s
men drove back the enemy. On the third
day, at 1 o’clock P. M., Lee began to fight
with one hundred and fifty big guns. For
two hours the air was alive with shells.
Then, out of the woods swept the Confederate
battle line, over a mile long, under General
Pickett. A thrill of wonder ran along the
Federal lines as that grand column of fifteen
68
THE LIFE OF GEN. BOBER T E. LEE.
thousand men marched, with ragged clothes,
but bright guns and red battle-hags hying,
up the slope of Cemetery Ridge. Down upon
them came shot and shell from guns on the
heights above and round them.
The line was broken, but on they went.
They planted their Confederate hags on the
breast-work ; they fought hand to hand and
killed men at the cannon with the bayonet;
but down from the hill rushed tens of thou-
sands of Federals, and many who were not
killed were taken prisoners. Few got back
to tell the story. That night the stars
looked down upon a held of dead and dying
men and also upon a sad general. Lee’s
orders had not been obeyed, and, for the hrst
time, he had been foiled.
Lee afterwards said to a friend, “Had I
had Stonewall Jackson at Gettysburg, I would
have won a great victory. ”
He had made a bold plan to attack early
in the day ; but it was not done, and thus
Meade got time to bring up his troops.
THE LIFE OF GEE. ROBERT E. LEE.
69
Meade did not attack Lee, who rested that
night upon the same ground as the night
before.
Lee now had but little powder and shot.
On the next day, the 4th of July, he started
his long trains of wounded and prisoners
towards Virginia; and, at the same time,
buried his dead. That night, in a storm,
the army began its homeward march, and
reached the Potomac river to find it too high
to cross. Calm and brave, Lee sent his
wounded over in boats and got ready for
Meade. But Meade was in no mood to
attack Lee and came up slowly.
While waiting for the river to fall, Lee
heard of the capture of his son Gen. W. H. F.
Lee.
On the 13th, Lee’s men began to cross
the river, and by the next night they were
again safe in Virginia.
The men lost at Gettysburg were never
replaced, for the South had sent forth all her
fighting men and had no more to give.
70
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
The rest of the year passed without any
great battle. Lee’s chief concern was to
get food and clothes for his men and to watch
Meade, who would not give battle.
About this time the city of Richmond pre-
sented to Lee a house. This he kindly but
firmly refused to take, and begged that what
means the city had to spare might be given
to the families of his poor soldiers.
Late in November, General Meade moved
towards Lee, who had built strong forts at Mine
Run. But Meade found the forts too strong
for attack and withdrew during the night.
The next year a new man was sent against
Lee — Ulysses S. Grant. Lee had now only
sixty-two thousand men to meet Grant, who
had one hundred and twenty-five thousand men,
and a wagon train that reached sixty-five
miles.
With this large army, Grant crossed the
Rapidan river, and marched on to give Lee
battle. Lee did not wait for Grant, but
went forward and met his hosts in a place
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
71
called the Wilderness, which was a vast
forest full of underbrush, and with only nar-
row roads here and there. It was a bad
place in which to fight a battle, for no man
could see but a few yards around him. Can-
non and horsemen were of no use, because
they could not move through the tangled
bushes.
Grant did not know that Lee’s men were
so near. But when they rushed into these
wilds and boldly began the tight he had to
give battle. For two days, May 5th and
6th, 1861, two hundred thousand men in
blue and gray fought breast to breast in the
thickets. Men fell and died unseen, their
bodies lost in the bushes and their death-
groans drowned in the roar of battle.
In the midst of these horrors, the woods
caught on fire and many of the wounded
were burnt alive. Lee, however, pressed for-
ward, and when night closed had taken a
portion of the Federal breast-works.
During the fight of the 6th, General Lee
72
TUB LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
placed himself at the head of some men from
Texas to lead the charge. “Hurrah for
Texas!” he cried, and ordered the charge.
But the soldiers, anxious for their dear gen-
eral, shouted, “Lee to rear!” A gray-liaired
soldier seized his bridle, saying, “General
Lee, if you do not go back, we will not go
forward!” So General Lee reined back his
horse and the brave Texans swept on to vic-
tory and death.
On the morning of the 7th, Grant made
no motion to attack Lee, but that night
marched towards Spotsylvania Court-House.
Lee at once found out his plans and began
a race to reach there first. When the front
of Grant’s army reached the Court-House the
next morning, they found Lee’s men behind
breast-works and ready for the fight. Lee
had gotten between Grant and Richmond!
That evening the two great armies were
again facing each other on the banks of the
Po river. Here they threw up breast-works,
which may yet be seen.
THE LIFE OF QEK ROBERT E. LEE.
73
For twelve days, Grant made many at-
tacks upon Lee’s lines. Early on the morn-
ing of the 12th his men made an opening in
ran up quickly and soon a most terrible light
took place. The trenches ran with blood
and the space was piled with dead bodies,
whose lips were black with powder from bit-
ing cartridges.
74
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
Though Grant held that position, he could
not break through the second line. The
little army in gray stood as firm as the
mountains.
In the fight of which I have just told you,
General Lee again rode in front, with hat
off, to lead the charge; but General Gordon
dashed up and said :
“These are Virginians and Georgians who
have never failed. Go to the rear, General
Lee.”
Then he said to the men:
“Must General Lee lead this charge?”
“No! No!” they cried; “we will drive
them back if General Lee will go to the
rear.”
They rushed off and once more hurled back
the Federal troops.
Grant now sent his cavalry general, Sher-
idan, on a raid near Richmond. A fierce
battle was fought at Yellow Tavern, in which
the famous Jeb Stuart was wounded so that
THE LTFE OF GEJST. ROBERT E. LEE.
75
he died the next day. Alas for Lee! Jackson
and Stuart were both gone.
Grant again moved to the rear, and Lee
next moved to the North Anna river. While
Grant was again trying to dank, Lee got to
the old works at Cold Harbor. Grant made
an attack at daylight. His troops, sinking
into a swamp, were killed by thousands,
while Lee lost but few men.
A second assault was ordered, but the men
would not move forward. About thirteen
thousand of their comrades had been killed
in less than half an hour, and they could no
longer stand the awful bre.
We are told by General Fitzhugh Lee that
Lee’s men were hungry and mad. One
cracker to a man, with no meat, was a
luxury. One poor fellow, who had his
cracker shot out of his hand before he could
eat it, said: “The next time I’ll put my
cracker in a safe place down by the breast-
works where it won’t get wounded, poor
thing! ”
76
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
Lee again stood in Grant’s way to Pick-
mond. In the battles from the Wilderness
to Cold Harbor, Grant had lost sixty thou-
sand men, while Lee’s loss was eighteen
thousand.
Just before the battle of Cold Harbor,
Grant had looked for Sigel to move up the
Valley and fall upon Lee’s rear. But Sigel
was met at New Market on May 15th by
Breckenridge with five thousand troops,
among which was a band of cadets from the
Virginia Military Institute at Lexington.
These boys fought like heroes, fifty of them
being killed and wounded. Sigel was sent
running back down the Valley, and Brecken-
ridge then marched to the help of Lee.
Grant then, on the night of June 12th,
began to move his army south of the James
river to march towards Petersburg, a city
about twenty-one miles south of Richmond.
The famous General Beauregard (Bo' re-
gard) was at Petersburg with only about
two thousand men, as he had sent the most
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
77
of his troops to the north side of the James
river to the "help of Lee.
Against these, on the loth, General Grant
sent eighteen thousand men.
Beauregard held these men in check until
Lee sent troops to aid him. Lee then came
up with the main army, and Grant, having
lost ten thousand men, now began to make
trenches and build forts to protect his men,
as he was going to lay siege to Petersburg,
the key to Richmond.
Lee had to defend both Richmond and
Petersburg with lines thirty-five miles long,
against Grant’s army, which was twice as
large as his own. In fact, Grant had all
the men that he asked for; while Lee’s
ranks were thin and food was scarce. A fourth
of a pound of meat and one pound of flour
was all that each soldier had for one day.
In this stress, it is said that Lee thought
it best to give up Richmond and march south
to join the army there. I do not know the
truth of that statement. At any rate, he
78
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
did not go, but went to work to make his
lines stronger and to get in food for his men.
One of his great cares was to keep Grant
from getting hold of the railroads which
brought food from the South and other parts
of the country.
Just here, it will be well to give you some
of the war prices at that time. Flour brought,
in Confederate money, two hundred and fifty
dollars per barrel; meal, fifty dollars; corn,
forty ; and oats, twenty-five dollars per bushel.
Brown sugar cost ten dollars per pound;
coffee, twelve dollars ; tea, thirty-five dollars ;
and they were scarce and hard to get.
Woolen goods were scarce; calico cost thirty
dollars per yard, and lead pencils one dollar
a-piece. Women wore dresses that were
made of cloth spun, woven and dyed by
their own hands. Large thorns were used
for pins and hair-pins, and shoes were made
with wooden soles. Hats- were made by girls
out of wheat straw, plaited into a braid and
then sewed into shape.
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
79
Those were indeed hard times ; but in spite
of want and care, the spirits and courage of
the Southern people did not flag. All food
that could be spared was sent to Richmond,
and every one hoped for the best.
Time after time Grant’s men made attacks
upon Lee’s works, but were always sent back
faster than they came, by his watchful men.
The shells from Grant’s big guns fell into
the city of Petersburg day after day, burst-
ing into the churches and houses, and making
the people flee for their lives.
One day, as General Lee was sitting on a
chair under a tree at his headquarters, the
“Clay House,” the balls fell so thick about
him that his aids begged him to seek a safer
place. He at last mounted his horse and
rode away. A moment after, a gay young
soldier sat down in the chair and tilted it
back, saying, “ I’ll see if I can fill Lee’s place
for awhile.” Just then a ball struck the
front round of the chair and cut it in twain.
If Lee had been there, with the chair upon
80
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
the ground, he would have been badly hurt
All thanked God that he was safe.
On June 22d, the Confederates under
General Mahone made a sally from their
lines and gave the Federals a great surprise.
As the Southern shot and shell burst upon
them, they lied back into their lines and the
Confederates brought off two thousand prison-
ers, four cannon and eight flags.
On the same day, there was a fight at
Reams’ Station, in which the Federals were
put to flight and lost twelve guns and one
thousand men.
All this time, Grant was making earth-
works and forts, and at last carried out a
very cruel plan. From a spot out of sight,
he had a mine dug until it reached under
one of the Confederate forts. In that hole
he had caused to be placed a blast of eight
thousand pounds of powder. His plan was
to blow a hole in Lee’s lines and then rush
in with a large band of men and take the
city.
TILE SOUTJJKKN STA.TKS
TEE LIFE OF GEE. ROBERT E. LEE. 81
General Lee found out that they were dig-
ging the mine and where it was, and had a
strong line made in the rear, while big guns
were placed so as to fire across the breach
when the mine was sprung.
At that time there were only thirteen
thousand men in the trenches at Petersburg,
as General Lee had been forced to send some
of his troops to the north of the James to
check a move which Grant had made on
purpose to draw off Lee’s men from the mine.
Just at dawn, July 30th, the blast was
fired. A great roar was heard, and then
two hundred and fifty-six men from South
Carolina and twenty-two from Petersburg,
with guns, large masses of earth, stones and
logs, were thrown high into the air. A
breach one hundred and thirty-five feet long,
ninety feet wide, and thirty feet deep, had
been made in the Confederate lines. Those
near the spot were at first stunned, and
those far away could not think what the
noise meant.
82
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
Grant’s guns tired at once all along the
line, and a band of men marched out to rush
in through the breach. When they had
rushed across the space to the gap, they
found a deep pit at their feet.
EXPLOSION OF THE CRATER.
The Confederates had now gained their
wits, and at once opened fire. The storm of
shot and shell forced the Federals down into
the pit for shelter ; but when there, they could
not get out. Band after band of Federals were
sent forward to charge the works, but they
THE LIFE OF GEE. ROBERT E. LEE.
S3
either fell into the Crater or ran back to their
own lines.
Two hours had now passed, when black
troops were sent to seiz-e the guns which
were doing such deadly work. They marched
bravely up, but the Confederate lire was too
hot for them and they ran for their lives —
some into the Crater, and some back to their
own lines. Wliite troops were again sent
forward, but they, too, were driven back.
All this time the Crater was full of wounded,
struggling and dying men, upon whom the
hot sun beat and shot poured down.
Soon General Lee rode up, and by his
orders, General Mahone, with Weisiger’s and
Wright’s brigades, came up and charged with
a yell upon the Federals who had for the
first time reached the breast-works. There
was a fierce hand-to-hand fight, but the
Federals were quickly forced back.
All honor is due to the few men who had
so bravely held the breach until help came.
Just at this time a white flag was seen to
84
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
float above the side of the Crater, which told
that some were alive down there and ready
to give up.
In this strange fight Grant lost about four
thousand men and Lee about four hundred.
The pluck and skill of Lee and a few men
had foiled a well-laid plan and showed what
these brave heroes could do after years of toil
and battle.
Lee now thought that if he would again
send troops to threaten Washington, he
might cause Grant to move some of his
large army there, and thus give him (Lee) a
chance to hurl back the hosts of Grant from
Richmond. So he sent General Early down
the V alley into Maryland with only ten thou-
sand men.
They went as fast as they could, and on
July 9th met, at Monocacy Bridge, General
Lew Wallace with seven thousand men.
Having whipped him and taken from him
two thousand men, Early marched on to
Washington.
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
85
On the 10th, his troops marched thirty
miles, and on the 11th were in front of
Washington. But his force was too small
and too much worn out to try to attack the
city. He coolly camped in front of it all
day, and at night after a fight with some
Federal troops sent to catch him, went back
into Virginia. •
This raid of Early’s did not move Grant.
He left Mr. Lincoln to take care of Washing-
ton and kept the most of his men massed in
front of Lee’s lines.
It was about this time that the Federal
General Sheridan passed up the Valley and
burned two thousand barns filled with wheat
and hay, and seventy mills filled with flour.
He also drove off and killed four thousand
head of stock. The boast was that “if a
crow wants to fly down the Valley he must
carry his food along.”
This was a part of the plan to crush and
starve Lee, for a great part of his flour and
meat was sent from the Valley.
86
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
After many trials, on August 18th Grant
at last got hold of the Weldon railroad, which
brought supplies from the south. This was
a great blow to Lee.
In the fall of this year, when meat was
scarce, General Wade Hampton sent a note
to General Lee, telling him that there was a
large drove of beeves in the rear of Grant’s
army and asked leave to take a force of
horsemen and drive out the cattle. General
Lee at last told him to go, but urged him to
take great care not to be caught.
The men were well on their way when day
broke, and rode on until dark, when they
came to a halt in a road overhung by the
branches of trees. Here they slept, men
and horses, till just at dawn they sprang to
their saddles, and with the well-known yell
dashed into the camp of the foe. The Fed-
erals made a good fight for their meat ; but ,
at last fell back, and the Confederates cap-
tured and drove out more than two thousand
beeves. These they brought safe into camp
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
87
after having two tights and riding one hun-
dred miles.
This fresh meat was a great treat to Lee’s
men and the cause of much fun.
Lee’s lines were so close to Grant’s at one
point that the men would often call over to
Federals was Billy Yanks. On the day after
the beef raid, one of Grant’s men called out:
“I say, Johnny Reb, come over. Pve got
a new blue suit for you.”
“Blue suit?” growled out Johnny.
“Yes,” said the other, “take off those
88
THE LIFE OF GEE ROBERT E. LEE.
greasy butternut clothes. I would, if I were
you.”
“Never you mind the grease , Billy Yank,”
drawled out the Confederate, “I got that
out1 71 them beeves 1o yourn.11
Pop ! went the Federal’s gun, and the Con-
federate was not slow to pop back at him.
General Lee’s life was now full of care;
as soon as one attack on his lines was over,
another was begun. He lived in a tent and
would go down to the trenches himself to see
how his meji were getting on.
An old soldier relates that one day he
came into the trenches when the firing was
quite rapid. The men did not dare to cheer,
lest they might bring a hotter fire from the
foe, but they crowded around him and begged
him to go back. But he calmly asked after
their health and spoke words of cheer. Then
he walked to a big gun and asked the lieu-
tenant to fire, so that he might see its range
and work. The officer said, with tears in his
eyes, “General, don’t order me to fire this
TEE LIFE OF GEE ROBERT E. LEE.
89
gun while yon are here. They will open fire
over there with all those big guns and you
will surely get hurt. Go back out of range
and I’ll fire all day.” General Lee was
greatly touched by this, and went back,
while the men quickly fired off the huge gun.
Lee needed not only men, but food for
those he had. Many men died from cold
and want.
The winter of 1864 and ’65 was a sad one
for Lee and the South. There were no more
men in the South to take the place of those
who had been killed.
The corn and wheat of the South had been
burnt and the cattle killed by the Northern
armies. The people sat down to empty
tables and had no more food to send their
men.
Mrs. Lee, in her sick chair in Richmond,
“with large heart and small means” knit
socks, which she would send at once to the
bare-footed men.
90
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
On January 10, 1865, General Lee writes
to Mrs. Lee:
“Yesterday three little girls walked into
my room, each with a small basket. The
eldest had some fresh eggs, the second some
pickles, and the third some pop-corn, which
had grown in her garden. * * They had
with them a young maid with a block of soap
made by her mother. They were the daugh-
ters of a Mrs. Nottingham, a refugee from
Northampton county. * I had not
had so nice a visit for a long time. I was
able to fill their baskets with apples, and
begged them to bring me hereafter nothing
but kisses, and to keep the eggs, corn, etc.,
for themselves.”
Lee’s men were ragged and starving, but
they fought on till April 1st, 1865, when,
at Five Forks, the left wing of Grant’s large
army swept around the right and rear of
Lee, and made him give up Richmond and
Petersburg.
When the Southern troops were leaving
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
91
Richmond, by law of Congress the tobacco
houses were set on fire to keep them from
falling into the hands of the foe. The fire
spread, and Mrs. Lee’s house was in danger
of being burnt. Friends came in and
wished to move her to a place of safety, but
she was loath to go. The fire had no terror for
her as she thought of her husband with his
band of ragged, starving men marching with
their “faces turned from Richmond.” White
clouds of dense smoke, with the light of fire
in their folds, hung above the city as the
Federal army, with waving flags and clash-
ing music, marched in and stacked arms in
the Capitol Square.
In the meantime, Lee marched on towards
Amelia Court-House, where he had ordered
meat and bread to be sent for his men. But
when he got there he found that it had been
sent elsewhere, and now real want set in.
His men had nothing to eat but corn, which
they would parch at night and eat as they
marched along. General Lee’s plan had
92
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
been to march south and join General John-
ston, but some time had been lost in looking
for food, and General Grant’s hosts were near
at hand.
So Lee fell back towards Lynchburg, but
on April 9th, 1865, being entirely surrounded
by Grant’s vast army, he and his few ragged
men surrendered to General Grant at Appo-
mattox Court-House. Lee had only eight
thousand men, while Grant’s army numbered
about two hundred thousand.
In all these battles, of which I have told
you, General Lee had never been really de-
feated; but he gave up at last because he
had no more men and no more food. The
Northern generals had all the men and food
they asked for, as they had the world to
draw from ; but the South, being blockaded,
or shut in by Northern ships of war, could
not get what she needed from other lands.
Lee did all that courage and genius could
do against such odds, and was, without doubt,
the greatest commander of his time.
THE LIFE OF GEE ROBERT E. LEE.
93
Colonel Tenable, an officer on General
Lee’s staff, tells this story of the surrender:
“When I told General Lee that the troops
in front were not able to fight their way out,
he said ‘Then, there is nothing left me but
to go and see General Grant, and I would
rather die a thousand deaths.'1 ”
Another officer says that when Lee was
thinking of the surrender he exclaimed,
“How easily I could get rid of all this and
be at rest! I have only to ride along the
lines and all will be over. But,” he added
quickly, 11 it is our duty to live, . for what will
become of the women and children of the
South if we are not here to support and pro-
tect them?”
So, with a heart bursting with grief, he
once more did his duty. He went at once
to General Grant and surrendered himself
and his few remaining men.
By the terms of the surrender, Lee’s men
gave up their fire-arms, but all who had
94
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
horses took them home, ‘ ‘ to work their little
farms.”
General Grant, it must be said, was most
kind to General Lee and his men. He did
not ask for General Lee’s sword, nor did Lee
offer it to him; neither did he require Lee’s
men to march up to stack their guns between
ranks of Federals with flags flying and bands
playing. Lee’s men simply went to places
which were pointed out and stacked their
guns. Their officers then signed a parole
not to fight again against the United States.
They were then free to go back to their
homes, which, in some cases, were burnt —
blight and want being on every side.
After all, Grant did not go to Lee’s camp
or to Richmond to exult over the men who
had so often met him in battle; but he
mounted his horse, and, with his staff, rode
to Washington. Before going, he sent to
Lee twenty-five thousand rations ; for, as 1
have told you, Lee’s men had nothing to eat '
but parched corn.
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
95
After the surrender, Lee rode out among
his men, who pressed up to him, eager to
“touch his person, or even his horse,” and
tears fell down the powder-stained cheeks of
the strong men. Slowly he said :
“Men, we have fought the war together;
LEE LEAVING APPOMATTOX C. H.
I have done my best for you; my heart is
too full to say more.”
“And then in silence, with lifted hat, he
rode through the weeping army towards his
home in Richmond.”
As General Lee rode on towards Rich-
96
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
mond he was calm, and his thoughts dwelt
much more on the state of the poor people
at whose houses he stopped than upon his
own bad fortune. When he found that all
along the road the people were glad to see
him and gave him gladly of what they had to
eat, he said, “These good people are kind —
too kind. They do too much — more than
they are able to do — for us.”
At a house which he reached just at night,
a poor woman gave him a nice bed; but,
with a kind shake of the head, he spread
his blanket and slept upon the floor.
The next day he stopped at the house of
his brother, Charles Carter Lee; but, when
night came, left the house and slept in his
old black wagon. He could not give up at
once the habits of a soldier.
When, at last, the city of Richmond was
in sight, he rode ahead with a few of his
officers. A sad sight met his view. In the
great fire of the 3d of April, a large part of
the city had been burned, and, as he rode
THE LIFE OF GEE. ROBERT E. LEE.
97
up Main street, he saw only masses of black
ruins.
As he rode slowly, some of tne people saw
him, and at once the news flashed through
the streets that General Lee had come.
The people ran to greet him, and showed
by cheers and the waving of hats and hand-
kerchiefs how much they loved him.
General Lee now went home and there
again took up his duty. He had fought for
the South, which had failed to gain the vic-
tory. He thought that it was now the duty
of every good man to avoid hate and malice
and do all that he could to build up the
waste places of his dear land. He had been
a soldier for forty years, and, for the first
time since manhood, was in private life.
He now enjoyed the company of his wife
and children, and as long as he kept his
parole and the laws in force where he lived,
was thought to be safe. There were, how-
ever, steps taken to try him for treason; but
General Grant went to the President and
98
TEE LIFE OE GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
told him that his honor was pledged for the
safety of General Lee, and that he wished
him to be let alone. So, General Grant’s
request was granted and no trial took place.
After some months the Lee family left
Richmond and went to live at the house of
a friend in Powhatan county.
The spring and summer of 1865 was spent
by our hero in taking the rest which he so
much needed.
Refugee', one who leaves home for safety.
Siege, the act of besetting a fortified place.
Hurled, thrown.
Genius, a great mind.
Surrfin'der, the act of yielding to another.
What do you remember about- —
Chancellorsville ?
The death of General Jackson?
Gettysburg ?
The Wilderness ?
“ Lee to the rear ? ”
Cold Harbor ?
The siege of Richmond and Petersburg?
The surrender?
General Grant’s kindness ?
VIRGINIA. BATTLE-FIELDS
'
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
99
CHAPTER VI.
A College President.
In October, 1865, General Lee became
President of Washington College, in Lexing-
ton, Virginia. Many other places of trust
were offered him, but he chose to lead the
young men of the South in the paths of
. peace and learning, as he had so nobly done
in times of war.
General Lee rode on his war-horse, Traveler,
from Powhatan county to Lexington in four
days. As he drew rein in front of the village
inn, an old soldier knew him, gave the mili-
tary salute, and, placing one hand upon the
bridle and the other upon the stirrup, stood
and waited for him to dismount.
On October 2d, 1865, General Lee took
the oath of office, before William White, Esq.,
justice of the peace. The General stood,
dressed in a plain suit of gray, his arms
100
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
folded, and his eyes calmly fixed upon Judge
Brockenbrough, as he read the oath of office.
The great chief was now changed into a
college president. “I have,” said he, “a
task which I cannot forsake.” That task
was not easy, for the college had lost much
during the war and now had to be built up
in every way.
WASHINGTON & LEE UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE CHAPEL.
He went to work with great skill and
energy, and soon all felt that a great man
was leading them.
Some one has aptly said, “Suns seem
larger when they set;” so it was with Lee.
At this time of his life he appears nobler
and grander than ever before. In his quiet
THE LIFE OF OEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
101
study, away from the noise of the world, he
gave his time and talents to the young men
of his dear South. His earnest wish was to
make Washington College a great seat of
learning, and for this he worked and made
wise plans.
In March, 1866, he went to Washington
city to appear as a witness before the com-
mittee which was inquiring into the state of
things in the South. This was his first visit
to any of the cities since the war, and it
caused much comment.
General Fitz. Lee tells us that the day
after his return, he proposed a walk with
one of his daughters, wTio said, in fun, that
she did not admire the new hat which he
was about to put on. “You do not like my
hat?” said he; “why, there were a thou-
sand people in Washington the other day
admiring this hat.” This was the only time
that he spoke of the crowds of people who
sought him while in that city.
When . his nephew, General Fitz. Lee,
102
THE LIFE OF OEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
wrote to know what he thought of having
the Southern dead moved from the field of
Gettysburg, he said, “I am not in favor of
moving the ashes of the dead unless for a
worthy object, and I know of no fitter rest-
ing-place for a soldier than the field on which
he so nobly laid down his life.”
It is sometimes asked if General Lee was
content in the quiet of his home at Lexing-
ton. This is what he wrote to a friend :
“For my own part, I much enjoy the
charms of civil life, and find, too late, that I
have wasted the best years of my life.”
In his life as College President, duty was,
as ever, his watchword. He knew each stu-
dent by name, and just how well he studied.
Once, when asked how a certain young
man was getting along, he said: “He is a
very quiet and orderly young man, but he
seems very careful not to injure the health of
his father’s son. Now, I do not want our
young men to injure their health, but I
want them to come as near it as possible.”
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
103
One of his friends relates that, even amidst
this busy life at college, he found time to be
the most polite gentleman in town. “How
often have I seen him,” says this friend,
“in the stores and shops of Lexington, talk-
ing pleasantly with each new comer; or,
walking a mile through mud and snow to
call on some humble family, who will hand
it down as an event in their lives that they
had a visit from General Lee! ”
Seeing, during the first year, that the col-
lege chapel was not large enough, he at once
began to plan for a new one. He chose the
site for it in front of the other houses, so
that it might be in full view. He then had
the plan drawn under his own eye, and did
not rest until it was finished and opened for
the service of God,
In this chapel his body now rests, as I
shall tell you hereafter.
Early in 1870, in the midst of these
labors, his health began to fail. There was
a flush upon his cheek, and an air of weari-
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TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
ness about him which alarmed his friends.
.Rheumatism of the heart and other parts of
the body had set in, and in March, 1870, he
went south “to look upon other scenes and
enjoy the breezes in the ‘land of sun and
flowers.’ ” His daughter Agnes went with
him.
On this trip he once more went to see his
father’s grave, on an island off the coast
of Georgia, where, you remember, General
Henry Lee was taken when so ill on board
ship, and where he died. They placed fresh
flowers upon the grave, which they found in
good order, though the house had been burnt
and the island laid waste.
His health seemed better when again at
home ; but soon his step was slower, and the
flush upon his cheek began to deepen. “A
noble life was drawing to a close.”
On the morning of October 12, 1870, the
news flashed over the wires that General
Lee was dead. He had taken cold at a ves-
try meeting. The church was cold and
GRAVE OF LEE’S FATHER.
106
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
damp, and a storm was raging outside. He
grew chilly, and when he reached home was
unable to speak.
Mrs. Lee wrote thus of his last hours:
“My husband came in while we were at
tea, and I asked where he had been, as we
had waited some time for him. He did not
reply, but stood up as if to say grace. No
words came from his lips, but with a sad
smile he sat down in his chair.”
He could not speak ! A bed was at once
brought to the dining-room, and the doctors
sent for. At lirst he grew better, but soon
a change came for the worse.
He rarely spoke except when sleeping, and
then his thoughts were with his much-
loved soldiers on the “dreadful battle-
fields.” Among his last words were, “Tell
Hill he must come up.”
Once when General Custis Lee said some-
thing about his getting well, he shook his
head and pointed upward. When his doc-
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
107
tor said, to cheer him, “How do you feel
to-day, General?” General Lee said slowly,
“I feel better.”
The doctor then said:
“You must make haste and get well.
Traveler has been standing so long in the
stable that he needs exercise.”
The General made no reply, but shook his
head and closed his eyes. Once or twice he
put aside his medicine, saying, “It is no
use.”
On October 10th, about midnight, he was
seized with a chill and his pulse became
feeble and rapid. The next day he was seen
to be sinking. He knew those around him,
but was not able to speak. Soon after nine
o’clock on the morning of the 12th, he closed
his eyes on earthly things and his pure soul
took its flight to God.
It was thought that the strain and hard-
ships of war, with sorrow for the “Lost
Cause ” and the griefs of his friends, had
caused his death. Yet, to those who saw
108
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
his calmness in all the trials of life, it did
not seem true that his great soul had been
worn away by them.
The college chapel was chosen by Mrs.
Lee as a burial place for her husband, and
one-and-a-half o’clock P. M. on the 13th of
October was the time fixed on for moving
the remains to the chapel, where they were
to lie in state until Saturday, the 15th of
October, the day for the burial.
At the hour named, a long procession,
with Professor J. J. White as chief marshal,
was formed. Old soldiers formed an escort
of honor. Just after the escort came the
hearse, preceded by the clergy and twelve
pall-bearers. In rear of the hearse, Traveler,
the iron-gray war-horse of General Lee, was
led by two old soldiers. Then followed a
long line of students, cadets and people.
The body was borne to the college chapel
and laid in state upon the dais, the people
passing slowly by, that each one might look
upon the face of the dead. The body was
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
109
clad in a simple suit of black and lay in
a coffin, strewed by loving hands with rare,
pale flowers. The chapel was then placed
in charge of the guard of honor. This guard
of students kept watch by the coffin day and
night.
On the 14th, a funeral service was held
in the chapel; and on the 15th of October,
as I have said, the body was borne to the
tomb. The flag of Virginia hung at half-
mast above the college and a deep gloom
rested upon all.
As the procession moved off, the bells of
the town began to toll, and the Virginia
Military Institute battery fired minute-guns.
All was simple and without display. JNTot a
flag was to be seen along the line. The
Eev. J. William Jones tells us as follows :
“The old soldiers wore their citizen’s
dress, with black ribbon in the lapel of their
coats ; and Traveler, with trappings of mourn-
ing on his saddle, was again led by two old
soldiers. The Virginia Military Institute was
110
THE LIFE OF GEE ROBERT E. LEE.
very beautifully draped, and from its turrets
hung at half-mast, and draped in mourning,
the Mags of all the States of the late Southern
Confederacy.
“When the procession reached the Insti-
tute, it passed the corps of cadets drawn up
in line, and a guard of honor presented arms
as the hearse wTent by. When it reached
the chapel, where a large throng had gathered,
the students and cadets, about six hundred
and fifty strong, marched into the left door
and aisle past the remains and out by the
right aisle and door to their proper place.
“The rest of the line then filed in, the
family, with Drs. Barton and Madison, and
Colonels W. H. Taylor and C. S. Venable,
members of General Lee’s staff during the
war, were seated just in front of the pulpit,
and the clergy and the Faculties of the Col-
lege and Institute had places on the plat-
form.
“The coffin was again covered with flowers
and evergreens.
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
Ill
“Then the Rev. Dr. Pendleton, the dear
friend of General Lee, his Chief of Artillery
during the war, and his rector the past five
years, read the beautiful burial service of
the Episcopal Church. There was no ser-
mon, and nothing said besides the simple
service, as General Lee had wished.
“When the body had been placed in the
vault, the chaplain read the concluding ser-
vice from the bank on the southern side of
the chapel, and then the grand old hymn,
‘ How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,’
was sung by the people.
“The vault is of brick and just reaches
the floor of the library. Upon the white
marble are these words :
“‘Robert Edward Lee,
Born January 19, 1807;
Died October 12, 1870.”
The white marble top has now been re-
placed by the beautiful recumbent statue
by Valentine, a Virginia sculptor.
112
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
All the South mourned for Lee. Bells
were tolled in cities and villages, and meet-
ings were held to express the grief of the
people.
RECUMBENT STATUE OF LEE.
This is what a little girl wrote to Mrs.
Lee :
“I have heard of General Lee, your hus-
band, and of all his great and noble deeds
during the war. I have also heard lately of
his death. I have read in the papers that
collections are being made for the Lee mon-
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
113
ument. I have asked my mother to let me
send some money that I earned myself. I
made some of the money by keeping the door
shut last winter, and the rest I made by
digging up grass in the garden. I send you
all I have. I wish it was more. I am nine
now.
“Respectfully,
“Maggie McIntyre.”
Many noble men and women also wrote to
Mrs. Lee, and money was given, until now
there are two beautiful statues of General
Lee — one in Lexington, where he is buried,
and the other in Richmond, the city he
fought so hard to save.
Virginia mourned for her noble son. The
State Legislature passed a bill making Jan-
uary 19th, the birthday of Robert E. Lee, a
legal holiday.
On that day, all over the South, meet-
ings are held in memory of him, speeches
114
THE LIFE OF OEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
are made by great men, and children recite
poems which honor his name and deeds.
Perhaps no man has ever lived, so great,
so good, so unselfish as Lee. Duty was the
key-note of his life. In the midst of his
greatness he was humble, simple and gentle.
He loved little children wherever he met
them.
“One day, during the war, a number of
little girls were rolling hoops on the side-
walks in Richmond, when General Lee came
riding towards them. They stopped playing
to gaze at so great a man. To their sur-
prise, he threw his rein to his courier, dis-
mounted, and kissed every one of them.
Then mounting, he rode away, with a sunny
smile of childhood in his heart and plans of
great battles in his mind.77
“While in Petersburg, in the winter of
1864, he went to preaching one day at a
crowded church, and saw a little girl, dressed
in faded garments, standing just inside the
door and looking for a seat. ‘Come with
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
115
me, my little lady,’ said the great soldier,
‘and you shall sit by me.’ Thus the great
chief and poor child sat side by side.”
Once when riding in the mountains with
one of his daughters, they came upon a
group of children who ran at the sight of
him. General Lee called them back and
asked :
“Why are you running away? Are you
afraid of me?”
“Oh ! no, sir; but we are not dressed nice
enough to see you.”
“Why, who do you think I am?”
“You are General Lee. We know you by
your picture.”
So great was the love of the people for
Lee that, after the war, almost every home
had some picture of the great chief.
General Lee knew all the children in Lex-
ington whom he met in his walks and rides,
and it was charming to see their joy when
he would meet them.
Once, when calling upon the widow of
116
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
General A. P. Hill, her little girl met him
at the door and held out her puppy which
she had named after our hero. “0, General
Lee,” she cried, “here is ‘Bobby Lee’; do
kiss him.” The great man made believe to
kiss him and the child was delighted.
In one of the Sunday-schools of Lexington
a prize was offered to the child who should
bring in the most pupils.
A little boy of five went for his friend,
General Lee, to get him to go to his school.
When told that General Lee went to another
school, he said with a deep sigh, “I am very
sorry. I wish he could go to our school, and
be my new scholar.”
General Lee thought it quite funny, and
said kindly;
“Ah! C , we must all try to be good
Christians — that is the great thing. I can’t
go to your school to be your new scholar
to-day. But I am very glad you asked me.
It shows that you are zealous in a good
cause, and I hope that you will ever be so
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
117
as you grow up. And I do not want you to
think that I am too old to go to Sunday-
school. No one is ever too old to study the
truths of the Bible.”
When he died, all the schools of Lexing-
ton were closed, and the children wept with
the grown people when they heard that their
kind friend was dead.
A gentleman tells this story, which is
quite in keeping with General Lee's way of
pleasing children : —
“When my little girl, about four years
old, heard of General Lee’s death, she said
to me, ‘Father, I can never forget General
Lee.’ I asked, ‘Why?’ ‘Because, when
Maggie and I were playing at the gate the
other day, and General Lee was riding by,
he stopped and took off his hat and bowed
to us and said, ‘Young ladies, don’t you
think this is the prettiest horse you ever
saw ? ’ And we said it was a very pretty
horse. ‘Oh, no,’ he said; ‘I want to know
whether Traveler is not the very prettiest
GENERAL LEE ON TRAVELER.
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
119
horse you ever saw in your life.’ And when
we looked at him, and saw how white and
gay he was, we said, ‘Yes.’ Then he
laughed and said, ‘Well, if you think he is
so pretty, I will just let you kiss him’ ; and
then he rode off smiling, and I don’t believe
I can ever forget that.”
Another gentleman, who was clerk of the
faculty at Washington College, says that
General Lee was very careful about little
things. One day the clerk wrote a letter to
some one at General Lee’s request, in which
he used the term “our students.” When
General Lee looked at it, he said that he
did not like the phrase “our students.” He
said that we had no property rights in the
young men, and he thought it best to say,
II the students,” not 11 our students.” The
clerk struck out with his pen the word
“our” and wrote “the.” He then brought
the letter to General Lee. “This will not
answer,” said he. “I want you to write the
120
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
letter over.” So the clerk had to make a
fresh copy.
One day General Lee directed him to go
to the Mess Hall and measure for a stove-
pipe. “Set the stove in its place on its
legs,” he said, “and measure the height to
a point opposite the flue-hole, and then the
space from the joint to the wall.” The man
returned with the measure. “Did you set
the stove on its legs?” asked the General.
The clerk replied no; that the legs were
packed up inside the stove, and that he
simply allowed for the legs. “But I told
you to put the stove on its legs and then
measure. Go back and do as you were
told,” said the General, who was always
kind but meant to be obeyed.
The same gentleman remembers this amus-
ing incident: —
One day they saw a gentleman coming up
the lawn, and wondered who he was. Gen-
eral Lee shook hands with him as though he
knew him, and chatted for some time. He
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
121
tried in vain to remember his name. In the
meantime Rev. J. William Jones, whose
month it was to lead the services in the
chapel, came np and whispered to General Lee
to introduce the strange clergyman to him, so
that he might ask him to conduct the ser-
vices in his place. But General Lee, with
his own ready tact, said: “Mr. Jones, it is
time for service; you had better go in the
chapel.”
After service, when he could do so without
being heard, General Lee asked Mr. Jones to
find out the stranger’s name. He had met
him in the Mexican war but could not recall
his name. Mr. Jones did so, and General
Lee, standing near, heard it, and then, with-
out making it known that he had forgotten
his friend of the Mexican war, introduced
him to those who were near. He could not
think of hurting the clergyman’s feelings by
letting him know that he had been forgotten.
General Lee was always careful not to
injure what belonged to others.
122
THE LIFE OF OEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
“A Southern Girl” tells this story of him:
“When in Maryland, he gave strict orders
that no harm should be done to property,
and was once seen to get down from his
horse and put up a fence-rail that his men
had thrown down.”
This story of General Lee went the rounds
of the Southern newspapers in 1864 : —
“On the train to Petersburg, one very cold
morning, a young soldier, with his arm in a
sling, was making great efforts to put on
his overcoat. In the midst of his trouble,
an officer rose from his seat, went to him
and kindly helped him, drawing the coat
gently over the wounded arm, and then with
a few kind words went back to his seat.
“Now, the officer was not clad in a line
uniform with a gilt wreath on his collar and
many straps on his sleeves, but he had on
a plain suit of gray, with only the three
gilt stars which every Confederate colonel
could wear. And yet, he was no other than
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
123
our chief general, Robert E. Lee, who is not
braver than he is good and modest.”
In the winter of 1864, some of the cavalry
were moved to Charlottesville, in order to
get food for their horses, and not having
much to do, the officers began to attend
dances. General Lee, hearing of this, wrote
to his son Robert thus : —
“I am afraid that Fitz was anxious to get
back to the ball. This is a bad time for
such things. * * There are too many
Lees on the committee. I like them all to be
at battles, but I can excuse them ad balls.”
It is said that during the seven days’
battle, of which I have told you, he was
sitting under a tree, the shades of evening
hiding even the stars on his coat collar,
when a doctor rode up and said :
“Old man, I have chosen that tree for my
field hospital and I want you to get out of
the way.”
I will gladly give way when the wounded
126
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
writes after his loss, sounds almost as if he
were looking back to the death of a friend :
“His labors are over, and he is at rest.
He carried me very faithfully, and I shall
never have so beautiful an animal again.”
General Lee was noted for his want of
hatred towards any one. He called the
Northern soldiers “those people.” Once, in
the midst of a fierce battle, he said to his
son Robert, who was bravely working at a
big gun, “That’s right, my son; drive those
people back.” When told of Jackson’s fatal
wound, his eye flashed fire and his face
flushed as he thought of his great loss; but
he quietly said:
“General Jackson’s plans shall be carried
out. Those people shall he driven back
to-day .”
The Rev. J. William Jones says — that one
day after the war, as he went up the street,
he saw General Lee standing talking to a
poor man. As the man walked away he
said to him: “That is one of the old sol-
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
127
diers, and added, ‘he fought on the other
side; but we must not think of that. ’ ”
After the war, when at the springs, a lady
friend pointed to a man near by and said to
General Lee, “That is General , of the
Federal Army. He is having quite a dull
time. He is here with his daughters, but
we do not care to have anything to do with
them.”
“I am glad that you told me,” said Gen-
eral Lee; “I will see at once that they have
a better time.”
After that he took pains to make friends
with “those people,” and so set the fashion
for others. General and his daughters
were soon having “a better time.”
General Lee was more than brave and
tender; he was meek, yet with a heart big
enough to love every one of his soldiers, and
great enough to plan long marches and
glorious battles.
After the battle of Gettysburg, one of his
officers rode up and told him that his men
128 THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
were for the most part killed or wounded.
Lee shook hands with him and said: “All
this has been my fault. It is I who have
lost this fight, and you must help me out as
best you can.”
Not once did Lee
cast the blame
where it belonged,
but rode among
his men with such
words of cheer as
these: “All this
will come right in
the end.” “We
want all good and
PICKETT’S RETURN AFTER THE °
battle of Gettysburg. true men just
now.” “All good men must rally.” In this
way he closed up his broken lines, and
showed such a brave front that Meade did
not deem it well to renew the fight.
Once, when some friends were at his house
in Richmond, the Rev. Dr. spoke in
sharp terms of the way in which the North
THE LIFE OF OEJST. ROBERT E. LEE.
129
had acted. General Lee said, “Well! it mat-
ters little what they may do to me ; I am old,
and have but -a short time to live at best.”
When Dr. got up to go home, Gen-
eral Lee went with him to the door and said
to him, “Doctor, there is a good book which
I read, and which you preach from, which
says, ‘Love your enemies, bless them that
curse you, do good to them that hate you.7
Do you think your speech just now quite in
that spirit?”
When Dr. made some excuse, Gene-
ral Lee said: “I fought the people of the
North because I believed that they were
seeking to wrest from the South her rights.
* * * I have never seen the day when I
did not pray .for them.”
“One day during the war, as they were
looking at the hosts of the foe, one of his
generals said, “ I wish those people were all
dead! ” General Lee, with that grace which
was his own, said, “How can you say so?
130
THE LIFE OF OEK ROBERT E. LEE.
Now, I wish that they would all go home
and leave us to do the same.”
At the close of the war, some of our best
men went to seek homes in other lands.
This, General Lee deemed wrong. He thought
that the men of the South should stay at
home and build up what had been laid
waste by war. He wrote to one of his
friends thus : “ She (Virginia) has need for
all of her sons, and can ill afford to spare
you.” Once mere he wrote: “I think the
South needs the aid of her sons more than
at any time of her history. As you ask, I
will state that I have no thought of leaving
her.”
In a word, the welfare of the impoverished,
desolated South was his chief concern. He
kept in sight the honor of the South, but not
that hate to the North which brought no good.
A lady who had lost her husband in the
war, and had brought her two sons to col-
lege, spoke in sharp terms of the North to
General Lee. He gently said: “Madam, do
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
131
not train up your children as foes to the
Government of the United States. * *
We are one country now. Bring them up
to be Americans.” Thus did this grand
man, with a sad heart, try to do his duty at
all times and on all occasions.
Though meek in the way I have told you,
General Lee was at the same time too proud
to take the aid which, from time to time, his
friends would offer him. They knew that
he had lost his “all” by the war, and felt
that he should now be helped, so that he
might pass his days without care. But this
proud man would take no aid. When, in a
quiet way, the trustees of the college gave
the house in which he lived to Mrs. Lee, and
also the sum of three thousand dollars each
year, he wrote, in Mrs. Lee’s name, a kind
but firm letter and declined the gift.
After his death, they again deeded the
home to Mrs. Lee and sent her a check for
a large sum of money. But she, with the
pride of her husband, sent back the check
132
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
and would not let the funds of the college be
taken for her use.*
General Lee was always neat in his attire.
This trait was the cause of much comment
at the time of the “surrender.”
General Sharp, of the Federal Army,
says:
“It was late in the day when it was
known that General Lee had sent for Gen-
eral Grant. The surrender took place in
the left-hand room of an old house which
had a hall-way through it. In that
room were a few officers, of whom I was
one.
“A short space apart sat two men. The
larger and taller of the two was the more
striking. His hair was as white as snow.
There was not a speck upon his coat; not a
spot upon those gauntlets that he wore,
which were as bright and fair as a lady’s
glove. That was Robert E. Lee. The other
was Ulysses S. Grant. His boots were
muddy, and he wore no sword.
TjEJC and grant.
134
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
“The words that passed between Lee and
Grant were few. General Grant, while the
men wrote out the terms of the surrender,
said : 1 General Lee, I have no sword ; I rode
all night.’ And General Lee, with the pride
which became him well, made no reply, but
in a cold, formal way, bowed.
“Then General Grant, in the attempt to
be polite, said: ‘I don’t always wear a
sword.’
“Lee only bowed again.
“Some one else then said: ‘General Lee,
what became of the white horse you rode in
Mexico? He may not be dead yet; he was
not so old.’
“General Lee again bowed and said: ‘I
left him at the White House, on the Pa-
munkey river, and I have not seen him
since.’
“Then there were a few words, which
we could not hear, spoken in a low tone
of voice between Grant and Lee.
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
135
“At last, when the terms of surrender
had all been signed, Lee arose, cold and
proud, and bowed to each man on our side
m the room. And then he went out and
passed down that little square in front of
the house, and mounted the gray horse that
had carried him all over Virginia.
“When he had gone we learned what the
low- toned words had meant. General Grant
turned and said: ‘You go and ask each
man that has three rations to turn over two
of them, and send them on to General Lee.
His men are on the point of starvation.7”
This calm, proud man was the same who
a few hours before had said : “Then there is
nothing left me but to go and see General
Grant, and I would rather die a thousand
deaths.” His superb, proud mien won from
the foe only praise and respect.
I must here give you General Fitzhugh
Lee’s picture of the two generals at that
time:
“ Grant, not yet forty-three years old, five
136
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
feet eight inches tall, shoulders slightly
stooped, hair and beard nut-brown, wearing
a dark-blue blouse ; top-boots, pants inside ;
dark thread gloves ; without spurs or sword,
and no marks of rank save the straps of a
general.
“Lee, fifty-eight years old, six feet tall,
hair and beard silver-gray ; a handsome
uniform of Confederate gray, buttoned to the
throat, with three stars on collar, fine top-
boots with spurs, new gauntlets, and at his
side a splendid sword.” Lee wore his best
in honor of the cause for which he fought.
General Lee never touched tobacco, brandy
or whiskey; he was always a sober man.
Just as he was starting to the Mexican war,
a lady in Virginia gave him a bottle of fine
old whiskey, saying that he would be sure
to need it, and that it was very fine. On
his return home he sent the bottle, unopened,
to his friend to convince her that he could
get along without whiskey.
General Lee once proposed to treat some
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
137
of his officers, saying, “I have a demijohn
which I know is of the best” The demijohn
was brought, and the cups, held out for the
treat, were tilled to the brim — not with old
“Eye,” but with fresh buttermilk, which a
kind lady had sent. The General seemed
to enjoy the joke hugely.
Being once asked to a fine dinner, he re-
fused all the good dishes, and said to the
lady of the house: “I cannot consent to be
feasting while my poor men are nearly
starving.”
It was his way to send any nice thing he
might have to the sick and wounded in the
hospitals.
A lady relates that when her brother
was badly wounded near Petersburg, he was
taken to a tent near a hospital, out of
range of the fire of the foe. One day Gen-
eral Lee came riding up and went in to see
the wounded man. He took him gently by
the hand and told him to cheer up and get
well; that he had use for all brave men like
138 TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
him. Then he drew two fine peaches from
his pocket and laid them on the side of the
cot.
Tears trickled down the wounded man’s
pale cheeks as he listened to these kind
words, and felt that his chief cared so
much for him, a private soldier.
Near the close of the war, when meat had
become quite scarce, an aide of President
Davis’, being at headquarters, was asked to
dine. The meal spread on the rough board
was corn-bread, and a small piece of meat in
a large mess of greens. The aid saw that
the meat was not touched, though General
Lee had asked all to take a piece of it.
When the meal was over, the aide asked one
of the men why the meat was not eaten.
The reply was, that it had been loaned by a
friend to cook with the greens, and had to
be returned.
It was General Lee’s wish to fare just as
his men did. When, during the siege ol
Petersburg, Mrs. Lee, fearing the great strain
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
139
would be too much for him begged him
to take more care of his health, he wrote :
“But what care can a man give to him-
self in time of war?” He then went on
to say that he lived in a tent in order to be
near his men and the officers with whom
he had to act; that he had been offered
rooms by kind friends, but that he could
not turn their homes into a camp.
An English officer wrote this account of
Lee’s headquarters in 1862: “Lee’s head-
quarters I found were only seven or eight
pole-tents, with their backs to a stake-fence,
while a little stream of good water flowed
close by. In front of the tents were three
wagons, and a number of horses roamed over
the fields. No guards were seen near, and
no crowd of aids swarmed about. A large
farm-house stood close by, which would have
made a good home for the General, but Lee
does not let his men rob or disturb the peo-
ple, and likes to set them a good example.”
140
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
It was in this way that he gained the
great love of his men.
A short time after the surrender, two
ragged Confederates, just from prison in the
North, waited upon the General and said
that there were sixty other fellows around
the corner who were too ragged to come.
They had sent these two to offer their loved
chief a home in the mountains of Virginia.
“We will give you,” said one of them, “a
good house and a fine farm. We boys will
work for you and you shall never want.”
Tears came to the eyes of General Lee as
he told them that he must decline their gift.
The offer of these men was but the feeling of
the whole South. Though poor themselves,
they would have given him houses, lands
and money had he let them.
Just after the war, General Lee received
the following letter from one of his old soldiers :
“ Dear General :
“We have been fighting hard four years, and
now the Yankees have got us in Libby Prison.
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
141
They are treating us awful bad. The boys want
you to get us out if you can ; but if you can’t, just
ride by the Libby and let us see you and give
you a cheer. We will all feel better for it.”
This letter touched the tender heart of
Lee, as well as this story which was told to
LIBBY PRISON.
him by Rev. J. William Jones: After the
war, the latter was riding along a road one
day, when he saw a young man plowing in
a held, guiding the plow with one hand,
for on the other side was an empty sleeve.
He soon saw that the man plowing was a
soldier whom he had known, and stopped to
speak to him. In fact, he had known the
142
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E LEE.
young man from boyhood; how, at the first
tap of the drum he had gone to fight for his
native State; and how he had been maimed
for life, and had gone home to find that he
must work with one arm for his bread, as his
fortune had been wrecked by the war. When
he told the young man how sad it made him
to see him thus, the latter said: “Oh! it is
all right. I thank God that I have one arm
left, and can use it for those I love.”
When the Rev. Mr. Jones told this to
General Lee, his face flushed, and he said:
“What a noble fellow! But it is just like
one of our soldiers. The world has never
seen nobler men than those who belonged to
the Army of Northern Virginia.”
The real corner-stone of Lee’s life was
his trust in God. Whatever came to him he
always said, “God’s will be done.”
The death of the wife of his son, General
W. H. Fitzhugh Lee, gave General Lee much
grief. The former General was wounded and
taken prisoner. While in prison his lovely
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
143
wife died. In this bitter grief, General Lee
wrote to his son these words:
“My whole trust is in God, and I am
ready for whatever He may ordain.”
While the army was at Mine Run, in No-
vember, 1863, and a battle was at hand,
General Lee, with a number of officers riding
down the line of battle, came upon a party
of soldiers who were holding a prayer-meet-
ing. The shooting had begun along the
lines, the cannon were already roaring, and
the mind and heart of the great chief were
on the battle. Yet, as he saw these men
bent in prayer, he dismounted and joined in
the simple worship. So these humble men
led the devotions of their loved General.
One day in 1865, while riding along the
lines with his staff, General Lee met the Rev.
J. William Jones, who was giving tracts to
the men in the trenches. He at once reined
in his horse and spoke to this “man of God,”
while the officers crowded around.
General Lee asked if he ever had calls for
144
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
prayer-books, and said that if he would come
to his headquarters he would give him
some — that a friend in Richmond had given
him a new book ; and upon his saying to his
friend that he would give his old book, that
he had used ever since the Mexican war, to
some soldier, the friend offered him a dozen
new books for the old one. He had, of course,
taken so grand an offer, and now had twelve,
in place of one, to give away.
When the Rev. Mr. Jones called, General
Lee was out, but had left the books for
Mr. Jones with one of his staff. He had
written on the fly-leaf of each book, “Pre-
sented by R. E. Lee.”
We are sure that if any of these books
were saved amid the din and stress of war,
they are now much prized by those who
own them.
These are some of the words which General
Lee would use when his army had gained the
day : ‘ ‘ Thanks be to God. ” “ God has again
crowned the valor of our troops with success.”
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
145
Again, upon a fast-day, he said in an order,
“Soldiers ! let us humble ourselves before the
Lord our God, asking, through Christ, the
forgiveness of our sins.”
With the close of the war, the piety of this
great man seemed to increase. His seat at
church was always filled, unless he was kept
away by sickness, and he was ever ready
for good works. He did not find fault with
preachers, as so many do, but was most fond
of those who were simple and true to the
teachings of the Bible.
Once he said to a friend: “Do you think
that it would be any harm for me to hint to
Mr. that we should be glad if he made
his morning prayers a little short? You
know our friend makes this prayer too long.
He prays for the Jews, the Turks, and the
heathen, and runs into the hour for our Col-
lege recitations. Would it be wrong for me
to hint to Mr. that he confine his
morning prayers to us poor sinners at the
College , and pray for the Turks, the Jews,
146
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
the Chinese, and other heathen some other
time? ”
General Lee was a constant reader of the
Bible. One of his friends relates that, as he
watched beside his body the day after death,
he picked up from the table a well-worn
pocket Bible, in which was written in his
own hand, “R. E. Lee, Lieutenant-Colonel of
IT. S. Army.” This little book had been the
light of his pathway through many trials.
General Lee gave freely of his small means
to his church and to the poor. At a vestry
meeting which took place the evening of his
illness, the sum of fifty-five dollars was needed
for the pay of the Rector. Though he had
before given his share, General Lee said in
a low voice, “I will give the sum.” These
were the last words he spoke to the vestry,
and this giving was his last public act.
His love for his wife and children is shown
by the tender, loving letters he wrote when
away from them. During the Civil War his
anxiety for them was. great.
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
147
Just before tire Northern army crossed the
Potomac, in 1861, Mrs. Lee left her beauti-
ful home, Arlington, and came South. Ar-
lington was at once seized by the Northern
Government, and the grounds were taken
for a burial-place for the Northern sol-
diers.
Mrs. Lee and her
daughters then
sought a home at
the “White House,’’
on the Pamunkey
river, where Wash-
ington married
the “Widow Custis,”
and which had been
RESIDENCE OE GENERAL LEE
left by Mr. Custis to ™ RICHMOND.
one of General Lee’s sons. Mrs. Lee
and her daughters were soon driven from
there by the hosts of McClellan, and the
house was burned to the ground. At last,
they found a home in Richmond, where they
lived until the close of the war.
148
TEE LIFE OF GEE ROBERT E. LEE.
Mrs. Lee’s health had failed, but a large
part of her time was spent in knitting socks
for the poor bare-footed soldiers of the South.
Her brave daughters, also, knit socks,
and nursed the sick and wounded soldiers.
Those were
sad times, and
the Lee family
suffered most
heavily.
The death of
her noble hus-
band was a
great shock to
Mrs. Lee, who
was then not
able to walk
without aid.
She did not survive him many years, and
now rests beside him in the College chapel
at Lexington, Virginia. Their daughter
Agnes, who died shortly after her father,
is buried in the same place.
MARY CUSTIS REE.
THE LIFE OF OEK ROBERT E. LEE.
149
Close by is the grave of Stonewall Jackson.
How meet that these two friends and heroes
should rest so near each other!
The blue mountains of their loved Virginia
keep “watch and ward” over their graves;
and each year, pilgrims from every part of
the land come to visit their tombs and place
fresh flowers and green wreaths upon them.
General Custis Lee was made President of
the College in his father’s place. The Col-
lege is now called the “Washington and Lee
University,” after Washington and Lee, the
two great names in the history of our
country.
Con'course, a crowd of people.
Cou'rier (koo'rier) , a man who carries an order
for an officer.
Pll'grim, a traveler to holy places.
Tell me —
What General Lee became in 1865.
Something about his work.
His visit to the South in 1870.
TEE LIFE OF GEE ROBERT E. LEE.
His illness and death.
What day is kept throughout the South
memory of Lee ?
About Mrs. Lee.
The tomb of Lee.
Washington and Lee University.
.LEE’S COUKT OF ABMS,'
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
151
CHAPTER VII.
A People’s Hero.
After the death of General Lee, many
speeches were made in his praise, and many
letters were written telling of the sorrow of his
friends. These letters came not only from
the South, but from the North, and other
lands.
The New York Sun thus closes its notice :
“His death will awaken great grief through
the South, and many people in the North
will drop a tear of sorrow on his bier. * * *
In General Lee, an able soldier, a sincere
Christian, and an honest man has been taken
from earth.”
The New York Herald said these kind
words of him:
“In a quiet autumn morning, in the land
he loved so well, and, as he held, he had
served so faithfully, the spirit of Robert E.
GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE,
THE LIFE OF GEE. ROBERT E. LEE.
153
Lee left the clay which it had so much
ennobled, and traveled out of this world
into the great and unknown land. * * *
“Not to the Southern people alone shall
be limited the tribute of a tear over the dead
Virginian. Here in the North, forgetting
that the time was when the sword of Robert
E. Lee was drawn against us, we have long
since ceased to look upon him as the Con-
federate leader, but have claimed him as one
of ourselves; for Robert Edward Lee was an
American, and the great nation which gave
him birth would to-day be unworthy of such
a son if she looked upon him lightly.”
The Pall Mall Ga zette, London, England,
said :
“The news from America, that General
Robert E. Lee is dead, will be received with
great sorrow by many in this country, as
well as by his fellow-soldiers in America.
“It is but a few years since Robert E. Lee
ranked among the great men of his time.
He was the able soldier of the Southern
154
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
Confederacy, the leader who twice threatened,
by the capture of Washington, to turn the
tide of success and cause a revolution which
would have changed the destiny of the United
States.”
The London Standard gave this tribute to
Lee:
“A country which has given birth to men
like him, and those who followed him, may
look the chivalry of Europe in the face with-
out shame; for the lands of Sidney and of
Bayard never brought forth a nobler soldier,
gentleman and Christian, than Robert E.
Lee.”
He was called “the great captain of his
age” — “the great general of the South” —
“a good knight, noble of heart and strong of
purpose, and both a soldier and a gentle-
man.”
These beautiful words were said of him in
a speech soon after his death :
“General Lee’s fame is not bounded by
the limits of the South, nor by the continent.
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
155
I rejoice that the South gave him birth. I
rejoice that the South will hold his ashes.
But his fame belongs to the human race.
Washington, too, was born in the South and
sleeps in the South, but his fame belongs to
mankind. We place the name of Lee by
that of Washington. They both belong to
the world.
“There is one thing more I wish to say
before I take my seat. General Lee’s fame
ought to rest on its true foundation. He did
not draw his sword in the cause of slavery — he
did not seek to overthrow the Government
of the United States. He drew it in the
defense of constitutional liberty. That cause
is not dead, but will live forever.”
General W. Preston spoke of him thus :
“I knew him first when he was a cap-
tain. * * At that time, General Scott
had decided upon General Lee as a man who
would make his mark if he were ever called
upon to do great work. He never drank, he
never swore an oath, but there was never a
156
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
dispute among gentlemen in which his voice
was not more potent than any other ; his rare
calmness and dignity were above all. When
the war came on, he followed his native
State, Virginia. * * Scott maintained
that Lee was the greatest soldier in the
army. * *
“I remember when Scott made use of these
words : ‘ I tell you one thing, if I were on my
death-bed, and knew that a battle was to be
fought for my country, and the President
were to say to me, ‘Scott, who shall com-
mand?’ I tell you that, with my dying
breath, I would say Robert Lee. Nobody
but Robert Lee! Robert Lee, and nobody
but Lee! ”
These extracts would not be complete
without this one, bearing upon his life as a
teacher :
“And it is an honor for all the colleges of
the South, and for all our schools, that this
pure and bright name is joined by the will
of him that bore it with the cause of educa-
TEE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
157
tion. We believe that, so long as the name of
Lee is cherished by Southern teachers, they
will grow stronger in their work. They will be
encouraged to greater efforts when they re-
member that Lee was one of their number,
and that his great heart, that had so bravely
borne the fortunes of an empire, bore also,
amid its latest aspirations, the interests and
hopes of the teacher.”
A great public honor was paid to our
hero when the bronze statue by Mercie
(Mersea) was unveiled in Richmond.
Shortly after the death of General Lee, a
few ladies met in a parlor in Richmond and
formed a society known as the Ladies’ Lee
Monument Association. Their plan was to
erect a monument in Richmond to the mem-
ory of the great chief, and to collect funds
for this purpose from the entire South. They
began at once their labor of love. Though
the South was at that time very poor, the
people gave gladly of their small means
until the Ladies’ Association had collected
over fifteen thousand dollars.
158
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
Almost at the same time, another “Lee
Monument Association” was formed of the
, old soldiers and sailors of the Confederacy,
which had General Jubal A. Early for its
president. The ladies of the Hollywood
Memorial Association were asked to help,
and they proved great workers in the cause.
I cannot tell you the many ways in which
these and other societies worked to raise the
money, but at last there was enough in the
treasury to erect the statue.
In the meantime, General Fitzhugh Lee
was made Governor of Virginia, and he at
once began to take measures to bring about
the erection of the monument. By his efforts
a “Board of Managers” was appointed, whose
work was to choose the design, the artist,
and the site for the monument. The Allen
lot, in the western part of the city, was at
last chosen for the site, and was accepted as
the gift of Mr. Otway Allen, June 18th, 1887.
It was then the duty of the Board to find a
sculptor worthy to execute this great work.
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
159
After many trials, the Board selected
Monsieur Mercie, a Frenchman, who was
both a painter and a sculptor of note. In
the summer of 1887, the best photographs of
General Lee, as well as one of his shoes and
his uniform, were sent to the sculptor. A
small spur, such as General Lee wore, was
taken over to France by Miss Randolph,
who was one of the Board of Managers.
Monsieur Mercie told her that when General
Lee’s shoe was sent to him, there was no one
in his household, except his twelve-year-old
boy, with a foot small enough to wear it.
In working out the likeness to General
Lee, Monsieur Mercie had the good fortune
to have Miss Mary Lee, who was then in
Paris, as a critic of his work.
On the 27th of October, 1887, the corner-
stone was laid with splendid rites, and on
the 3rd of May, 1890, the statue reached Rich-
mond by way of New York. It was packed
in three boxes. On the 7th of May, each box
was placed in a separate wagon, from which
160
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
waved the flags of Virginia and the Con-
federacy. Then, one wagon was drawn by
men of the city, one by old soldiers, and one
by women and girls — the fine lady and her
humble sister standing shoulder to shoulder.
They went through the city, pulling the ropes
amid the cheers of twenty thousand people,
until they came to the spot where the statue
was to stand. Such was their love for Lee!
The monument in all is about sixty-one feet
in height, and cost sixty-five thousand dol-
lars. It shows the General mounted upon
his war-horse, Traveler. His feet touch the
stirrups lightly, after the manner of the
Southern horsemen. He is clad in a plain
uniform. A sash girds his waist, and the
sword of a cavalry officer hangs from his
side. He holds the bridle reins in his left
hand, while in his right is his hat, which he
grasps as if he had just taken it off to ac-
knowledge the cheers of his men, through
whose ranks we may suppose him to be
passing.
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
161
The day decided upon for unveiling the
statue was Friday, May 29th, 1890.
From North, South, East and West,
people thronged to do honor to the great
chief.
All the city was then thinking of one
man — Lee, just as, twenty-five years before,
all their hopes had turned to him.
On that day, the sun rose bright and the
people with it. Soon, the noise of tramping
feet and the tap of the drum were heard, and
ere long the glitter of bayonets, the flashing
of sabers and the waving of flags told that
the line was forming. The streets were
crowded, and rang with cheers as some noted
soldier rode by or an old Confederate flag
was waved.
At noon, the long line was formed on
Broad street, and the parade began. Every
window, doorway, and even the house-tops
along the line of march, were filled with
people eager to see the great parade, which
162
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
stretched through the streets four miles in
moving mass.
General Fitzhugh Lee, nephew of the
hero, who had been one of his most daring
cavalry generals during the war, and who
had formerly been Governor of Virginia, was
chief marshal of the parade. Cheer after
cheer arose as he rode by, wearing the
slouch hat of a cavalryman. “Our Fitz,”
as his men loved to call him, “was himself
again.”
The guests rode in open carriages, and
among them were Misses Mary and Mildred
i
Lee; and General W. H. Fitzhugh Lee, wife
and sdns. They were followed by band
after band of volunteer troops from all the
Southern States, in the following order:
South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi,
Texas, Maryland, District of Columbia, Ala-
bama, West Virginia and Virginia. Behind
these marched the veterans — men who had
fought in the Civil War, and who came from
all parts of the South. Brave men were
TEE LIFE OF GEE ROBERT E. LEE.
163
there from Texas, the far-off “Lone Star
State.” With the veteran troops from Louis-
iana was “the old war-horse” Longstreet,
who had led the First Corps of the Army of
Northern Virginia; and at the head of the
Georgia men was the tried and true Gordon.
Gallant sons of Florida, Mississippi and
Alabama were in line with the brave men
of North and South Carolina. Veterans
from Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mary-
land, West Virginia and Virginia were also
there to honor the memory of their leader.
Whenever and wherever these veterans
were seen, they were greeted with hearty
cheers. Some were clad in their old gray
uniforms, faded and worn, and in many cases,
full of bullet-holes. Here and there along
the line could be seen the old and tattered
flags of the Confederacy.
After the veterans, came the civic orders
in Richmond, the students of Washington
and Lee University, and the corps of cadets
from the historic Virginia Military Institute.
164
THE LIFE OF GEE. EGBERT E. LEE.
The cross-bars and battle-flags of the Con-
federacy floated in the breeze by the side of
the “Stars and Stripes,” which meant that
the people of the United States were one
nation.
As the line moved along the streets
decked with floating flags and gay bunting,
the sound of the many feet was lost in loud
and hearty cheers that arose from doors,
house-tops and crowded sidewalks.
At last, the throng at the grandstand heard
the roll of the drum and the nearing din of
the parade, and soon the bright line swept
into view. The crowd was so dense that
persons on the grandstand could not be seen
by those on the ground. Ringing cheers
arose, not once, but time and time again, as
the great men took their places on the stand,
and it was as late as 3:45 o’clock P. M. when
Governor McKinney stepped forward to make
the opening speech.
Then there was prayer by Rev. Dr. Min-
nigerode, who was rector of St. Paul’s
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
165
church during the war, at which church
General Lee worshiped when in Rich-
mond.
When the prayer ended, the band played
Dixie, the war-song of the South, with whose
strains the old soldiers had so often been
thrilled as they marched into battle. Then
there was a great noise which at last wore
itself away, and General Early rose and
spoke a few words of cheer to the old sol-
diers.
The orator of the day was Colonel
Archer Anderson, who pictured scene after
scene in the life of General Lee with great
force and clearness. Again the grand hero
seemed to live and act in their midst — to
lead them on to victory or to teach them
how to bear defeat.
When the speaker took his seat, amid
cheers, General Joseph E. Johnston arose
and with two old soldiers marched to the
base of the monument. Each of the soldiers
carried a battle flag, tattered and torn by
166
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
shot and shell. When the monument was
reached, General Johnston pulled the rope,
and one part of the veil fell off. Another
pull brought off the rest of the veil, and the
splendid statue was in plain view of the
eager multitude. A score of old soldiers
mounted its base and waved their old Con-
federate flags in loyal, eager love for their
dead chief. Mighty cheers broke from the
watching throng, like the wild breaking of
a storm, but at last they died away.
Up there, against the blue sky, kissed by
the rays of the setting sun, in the midst of
his own people, was the matchless face and
form of Lee.
Some wept, others shouted, but all thanked
God that he had given to America such _ a
son as Lee.
Seldom had men looked on such a scene
before. At last the crowd went slowly
away, leaving their hero in bronze to keep
silent watch over the city he loved so well.
Beneath him were the homes of his friends,
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE
167
and beyond, in “Hollywood” and “Oak-
wood,” Richmond’s “cities of the dead,”
were the graves of his fallen heroes, and far
away, across and a-down the James, were
his battlefields.
As time rolls on, statue and city will pass
away. But the name and virtues of Robert
E. Lee will never die, for they are written in
the history of his country and in the Book
of Life, and will live beyond the shores of
Time.
Monsieur (mosyur'), a French word for Mr.
Sincere', honest.
Acknowledge (aknol'eg), to own a gift or
favor.
Pot'ent, strong, having power.
Sid'ney, an English patriot.
Bayard (ba'yar'), a French hero.
Pa'triot, one who loves his country.
168
THE LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.
Tell about —
A great honor paid to Lee.
The laying of the corner-stone.
The monument.
The parade.
The unveiling.
The undying fame of Lee.
GENERAL R. E. LEE’S
farewell Address to His Soldiers.
Headquarters Army Northern Virginia,
Appomattox C. H., April 10, 1865.
General Orders No. 9.
After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed
courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has
been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources.
I need not tell the survivors of so many hard-fought battles,
who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented
to this result from no distrust of them : but, feeling that valor
and devotion could accomplish nothing that would compensate
for the loss that must have attended a continuance of the con-
test, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose
past services have endeared them to their countrymen.
By the terms of the Agreement, Officers and men can return
to their homes and remain until exchanged. You will take with
you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty
faithfully performed, and I earnestly pray that a merciful Ood
will extend to you His blessing and protection. With an unceas- '
ing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your Country,
and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consider-
ation for myself, I bid you all an Affectionate Farewell.
Lee to the Rear.
JOHN R. THOMPSON.
Dawn of a pleasant morning in May
Broke thro’ the Wilderness, cool and gray,
While perched in the tallest tree-tops, the birds
Were carolling Mendelssohn’s “Songs without
words.”
Far from the haunts of men remote
The brook brawled on with a liquid note,
And nature, all tranquil and lovely, wore
The smile of spring, as in Eden of yore.
Little by little, as daylight increased,
And deepened the roseate flush in the East —
Little by little did morning reveal
Two long, glittering lines of steel !
172
SOUTHERN WAR POEMS.
Where two hundred thousand bayonets gleam,
Tipped with the light of the earliest beam,
And the faces are sullen and grim to see
In the hostile armies of Grant and Lee.
All of a sudden, ere rose the sun,
Pealed on the silence the opening gun —
A little white puff of smoke there came,
And anon the valley was wreathed in flame.
Down on the left of the rebel lines,
Where a breastwork stands in a copse of
pines,
Before the rebels their ranks can form
The Yankees have carried the place by storm.
Stars and Stripes o’er the salient wave,
Where many a hero has found a grave,
And the gallant Confederates strive in vain
The ground they have drenched with their blood
to regain.
Yet louder the thunder of battle roared —
Yet a deadlier fire on their columns poured —
Slaughter, infernal, rode with Despair,
Furious twain, through the smoky air.
SOUTHERN WAR POEMS.
173
Not far off in the saddle there sat
A gray-bearded man with black slouch hat ;
Not much moved by the fire was he —
Calm and resolute Robert Lee.
Quick and watchful, he kept his eye
On two bold rebel brigades close by —
Reserves that were standing (and dying) at
ease
Where the tempest of wrath toppled over the
trees.
For still with their loud, bull-dog bay
The Yankee batteries blazed away,
And with every murderous second that sped
A dozen brave fellows, alas ! fell dead.
The grand old beard rode to the space
Where Death and his victims stood face to face.
And silently waves his old slouch hat- —
A world of meaning there was in that !
<! Follow me ! Steady ! We’ll save the day ! ”
This was what he seemed to say ;
And to the light of his glorious eye
The bold brigades thus made reply :
174
SOUTHERN' WAR POEMS.
“We'll go forward, but you must go back.”
And they moved not an inch in the perilous
track.
“ Go to the rear, and we’ll give them a rout.”
Then the sound of the battle was lost in their
shout.
Turning his bridle, Robert Lee
Rode to the rear. Like the waves of the sea
Bursting the dykes in their overflow,
Madly his veterans dashed on the foe ;
And backwood in terror that foe was driven,
Their banners rent and their columns riven
Wherever the tide of battle rolled,
Over the Wilderness, wood, and wold.
Sunset out of a crimson sky
Streamed o’er a field of a ruddier dye,
And the brook ran on with a purple stain
From the blood of ten thousand foemen slain.
Seasons have passed since that day and year,
Again o er the pebbles the brook runs clear,
And the field in a richer green is drest
Where the dead of the terrible conflict rest.
SOUTHERN WAR POEMS.
175
Hushed is the roll of the rebel drum ;
The sabres are sheathed and the cannon are
dumb,
And Fate, with pitiless hand, has furled
The flag that once challenged the gaze of the
world.
But the fame of the Wilderness fight abides,
And down into the history grandly rides,
Calm and unmoved, as in battle he sat,
The gray-bearded man in the black slouch hat.
The Conquered Banner.
By the Rev. J. A. Ryan, Catholic Priest, of Knoxville, Tenn,
Music by A. E. Blackmar.
Furl that banner, for ’ tis weary ;
Round its staff ’tis drooping dreary
Furl it, fold it, it is best ;
For there’s not a man to wave it,
And there’s not a sword to save it,
And there’s not one left to lave it
In the blood which heroes gave it ;
And its foes now scorn and brave it —
Furl it, hide it, let it rest.
SOUTHERN WAR POEMS.
Take that banner down — ’tis tattered,
Broken is its staff and shattered,
And the valiant hosts are scattered
Over whom it floated high.
Oh ! ’tis hard for us to fold it,
Hard to think there’s none to hold it,
Hard that those who once enrolled it
Now must furl it with a sigh.
Furl that banner, furl it sadly —
Once ten thousands hailed it gladly,
And ten thousands wildly, madly,
Swore it should forever wave,
Swore that foeman’s sword should never
Hearts like theirs entwined dissever,
Till that flag would float forever
O’er their freedom or their grave.
Furl it ! for the hands that grasped it,
And the hearts that fondly clasped it,
Cold and dead are lying low ;
And the banner, it is trailing,
While around it sounds the wailing
Of its people in their woe.
SOUTHERN WAR POEMS.
177
For, though conquered, they adore it,
Love the cold, dead hands that bore it.
Weep for those who fell before it,
Pardon those who trailed and tore it,
And oh ! wildly they deplore it,
Now to furl and fold it so.
Furl that banner ! true ’tis gory,
Yet ’tis wreathed around with glory,
And ’twill live in song and story,
Though its folds are in the dust ;
For its fame on brightest pages,
Penned by poets and by sages,
Shall go sounding down the ages,
Furl its folds though now we must.
Furl that banner ! softly, slowly,
Treat it gently — it is holy —
For it droops above the dead ;
Touch it not, unfold it never ;
Let it droop there, furled forever,
For its people’s hopes are dead.
178
SOUTHERN WAR POEMS.
Music in Camp.
JOHN R. THOMPSON.
Two armies covered hill and plain,
Where Rappahannock’s waters
Ran, deeply crimsoned with the stain
Of battle’s recent slaughters.
The summer clouds lay pitched like tents
In meads of heavenly azure ;
And each dread gun of the elements
Slept in its hid embrasure.
The breeze so softly blew, it made ,
No forest leaf to quiver,
And the smoke of the random cannonade
Rolled slowly from the river.
And now, where circling hills looked down,
With cannon grimly planted,
O’er listless camp and silent town,
The golden sunset slanted.
When on the fervid air there came
A strain, now rich, now tender;
The music seemed itself aflame
With day’s departing splendor.
SOUTHERN WAR POEMS.
179
A Federal band, which eve and morn
Played measures brave and nimble,
Had just struck up with flute and horn
And lively clash of cymbal.
Down flocked the soldiers to the banks,
Till margined by its pebbles,
One wooded shore was blue with “ Yanks,”
And one was gray with “ Rebels.”
Then all was still, and then the band,
With movements light and tricksy,
Made stream and forest, hill and strand,
Reverberate with “ Dixie.”
The conscious stream with burnished glow,
Went proudly o’er its pebbles,
But thrilled throughout its deepest flow
With yelling of the rebels.
Again a pause, and then again
The trumpets pealed sonorous,
And Yankee Doodle was the strain
To which the shores gave chorus.
The laughing ripple shoreward flew
To kiss the shining pebbles ;
Loud shrieked the swarming boys in blue
Defiance to the Rebels.
180
SOUTHERN WAR POEMS.
And yet once more the bugles sang
Above the stormy riot ;
No shout upon the evening rang —
There reigned a holy quiet.
The sad, low stream, its noiseless tread
Poured o’er the glistening pebbles ;
And silent now the Yankees stood,
And silent stood the Rebels.
No unresponsive soul had heard.
That plaintive note’s appealing,
So deeply Home, Sweet Home, had stirred
The hidden founts of feeling.
Or blue or gray, the soldier sees,
As by the wand of fairy,
The cottage ’neath the live-oak trees,
The cabin by the prairie.
Or cold or warm, his native skies
Bend in their beauty o’er him ;
Seen through the tear-mist in his eyes,
His loved ones stood before him.
As fades the iris after rain
In April’s tearful weather,
The vision vanished as the strain
And daylight died together.
SOUTHERN WAR POEMS.
181
But memory, waked by music’s art,
Expressed in simplest numbers,
Subdued the sternest Yankee’s heart,
Made light the Rebel’s slumbers.
And fair the form of music shines,
That bright, celestial creature,
Who still ’mid war's embattled lines
Gave this one touch of nature.
— Louisville "Journal.
The South.
F AT HER RYAN.
Yes, give me the land
Where the ruins are spread,
And the living tread light
On the heart of the dead ;
Yes, give me the land
That is blest by the dust,
And bright with the deeds
Of the down-trodden just.
182
SOUTHERN WAR POEMS.
Yes, give me the land
Where the battle’s red blast
Has flashed on the future
The form of the past ;
Yes, give me the land
That hath legends and lays
That tell of the memories
Of long-vanished days.
Yes, giveme the land
That hath story and song
To tell of the strife
Of the right with the wrong ;
Yes, give me the land
With a grave in each spot
And names in the graves
That shall not be forgot.
Yes, give me the land
Of the wreck and the tomb;
There’s grandeur in graves —
There’s glory in gloom.
For out of the gloom
Future brightness is born ;
As, after the night,
T nnms the sunrise of morn.
SOUTHERN WAR POEMS.
183
And the graves of the dead,
With the grass overgrown,
May yet form the footstool
Of Liberty’s throne ;
And each simple wreck
In the way-path of might
Shall yet be a rock
In the temple of Right.
Date Due
s m
JUL 1 6 'zZ
1^2 7 '41
L. B. Cat. No. 1137
923.573 M-79* 36223
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